Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (often abbreviated TJHSST) is a public magnet school in Fairfax County, Virginia, founded through the cooperation of state and county government as well as industry. It is a member of the NCSSSMST. As the Virginia governor's school for Science and Technology in Northern Virginia, students who are residents of Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, Fauquier, and Prince William counties and the city of Falls Church are eligible to apply for admission.

TJHSST is often compared with other notable public magnet schools such as New York City's Stuyvesant High School and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. The current governor's school was founded in 1985, and occupies the building of a previous non-magnet Thomas Jefferson High School.

The school enrolls approximately 420 students in each of ninth through twelfth grades, competitively selected on the basis of middle school academic records and a standardized admission examination. Only about one in five applicants is selected for each incoming class.

The curriculum is uniquely extensive in mathematics and science, offering courses like Human Anatomy and Physiology, Marine Biology, DNA Science, DNA-Biotechnology, Quantum Mechanics, Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Complex Variables, and Differential Equations

Although the curriculum emphasizes education in mathematics and the biological and physical sciences, English and the humanities are also given enhanced curricula. Foreign language educational opportunities include four years of Japanese and Russian in addition to the more traditional German, French, Spanish and Latin. Further, several Tech Labs offer specialized instruction in scientific and engineering fields including Electronics, Supercomputing, Chemisty, Videotechnology, Astronomy and Biotechnology.

There have been rumors regarding a possible relocation to the campus of George Mason University following articles in the local press. This idea has sparked interest within the TJHSST community and the Faifax County Public School system, but it remains in the speculative stage.

Notably, TJHSST has fielded more National Merit Semifinalists than any other high school in America for most of the 1990s and 2000s. It has also fielded more USAMO qualifiers than any other high school in America in 2004. Also, in the late 1980s a team from the school won an ETA-10P supercomputer in the SuperQuest competition, a national science competition for high school students.