Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia shelled out $455,000 to controversial “equal outcomes” firm Performance Fact. The organization, based in Oakland, California, is not shy about its radical beliefs for achieving high-quality educational results.
Students who are taught properly will achieve equally high marks, guaranteeing that quality instruction will produce the same grades across the board.
“The decision by brass at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax, Virginia, was reportedly part of a new school strategy meant to provide 'equal outcomes for every student, without exceptions.”
https://t.co/CV13BCWggn— Fairfax County Parents Association (@FFXParentsAssoc) December 31, 2022
Nevermind that students enter the classroom with wildly varying intelligence, motivation, and work habits. And ignore that no two pupils are the same, which is a testimony to our natural “diversity.”
In a slide obtained by journalist Asra Nomani, Performance Fact’s belief system is clear. “Equal access to resources and opportunities that guarantee fair, just, and affirming experiences and produce equal outcomes for every student, without exception.”
Equal outcomes. Karl Marx must be spinning in his grave over this outlandish idea taking root in American education.
This is the same school system, allegedly one of the top in the nation, that is accused of withholding National Merit Awards from its top students. This was done, parents allege, to raise the “equity” at Thomas Jefferson High School (TJHS) for Science and Technology at Fairfax, Virginia.
Scholars who earned National Merit Commended Students and Semifinalists awards were not notified of their achievements. This was reportedly done to spare the feelings of those who fell short of the honor.
The awards were kept quiet at a critical time when students were applying to colleges and competing for admissions and scholarship offers.
Shawna Yashar, a TJHS parent who is also an attorney, discovered that her son received the honor two weeks after early application deadlines passed for several colleges.
The Fairfax Times reported startling details of an email exchange between Yashar, TJHS Principal Ann Bonitatibus, and Director of Student Services Brandon Kosatka.
In one of the messages, Yashar related a phone conversation between her and Kosatka. In it, he allegedly confessed that the school purposefully hid the awards from deserving students because he and Bonitatibus chose not to “hurt” the feelings of students who did not receive them.
The outlet reported that Kosatka said they “want to recognize students for who they are as individuals, not focus on their achievements.”
If there is a roadmap to the educational bottom, Fairfax County Public Schools are following it. The only way to guarantee equal outcomes is to either make them equally terrible or grant top marks to everyone despite their actual achievements. Both should be avoided at all costs.
