The Supreme Court declined late Monday to block one of the country’s top-rated high schools from using a new admissions plan that a community group says discriminates against Asian Americans.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., changed its admission system two years ago, with the stated goal of achieving more diversity in the student body. The school did away with a requirement to take three standardized tests, submit an essay and get teacher recommendations.
The new system requires applicants to have taken a rigorous load of middle school courses with a high grade-point average. The district also undertakes a “holistic review” of a student’s background, including socioeconomic status. An applicant’s race is not considered under the new evaluation system.
