Fairfax County schools’ roundup of prestigious National Merit Scholarship winners would look downright ordinary if it weren’t for one giant ace in the hole: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Students from the powerhouse “TJ” magnet, consistently ranked as the top public high school in the nation, earned 64 of the foundation’s awards in 2010 — twice the number earned by all other Fairfax students countywide.

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