Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology sits in Fairfax County, where 80 percent of its students live (the other 20 percent are from adjacent districts). Some 29 percent of students in Fairfax County Public Schools are from low-income families, compared to just 1 percent of students offered admission to TJ next fall. But how is it that a school system that created and sustains a school like TJ has so far failed to close the excellence gap? To learn more, read the full article, “A Stubborn Excellence Gap.”

—Education Next