Fairfax County Public Schools officials have claimed vindication from the most serious concerns raised by a failure to notify, in a timely way, students who had been selected for honors by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.
But at the same time, Superintendent Michelle Reid said new safeguards have been put in place to ensure that delays in notification at the school level will not be repeated.
In a March 29 letter to parents, Reid said an outside investigation had revealed “no evidence to suggest that FCPS deliberately withheld notification of Commended Student status from any student.”
The issue came to light late last year, when parents learned that students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology had not been informed by the school of the honor prior to November, which some said prevented students from using it on college applications. Investigation revealed that students at seven other county high schools suffered the same fate.
FCPS leaders said the incidents represented a series of uncoordinated procedural failings at the school level, while critics wondered aloud if what it instead represented was another step toward, as they see it, the school system attempting to downplay student achievement under the guise of equity.
While saying the report issued by the Sands Anderson law firm provided vindication on the seminal question of a concerted effort to withhold information, Reid acknowledged that the school system did not have in place a district-wide policy related to student notification of awards. Such a policy is now being put in place, which Reid said she hoped “may serve as a model for other schools in Virginia and nationwide.”
The report and Reid’s response may not be the end of the matter. The school system’s actions also have come under the scrutiny of the office of Virginia’s attorney general on this and other issues related to student achievement and civil rights.
High-schoolers receive Commended Student status from the National Merit Scholarship Corp. if their scores on the PSAT are high, but not high enough to become National Merit Semifinalists and earn the right to compete for scholarship funding. School districts are notified of students receiving the honor in mid-September each year.
The National Merit Scholarship Corp. does not directly notify high-schoolers of their selection as Commended Students, relying on school districts to do that. Fairfax officials have requested that the organization begin providing direct notification to families as well as the school system.
More than 800 students from Fairfax County’s public schools received Commended Student status last fall, based on PSAT exams taken in the 2021-22 school year.
– Scott McCaffrey
