What is the difference bethween Langley and McLean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Langely is by far the best regular high school in Fairfax County. TJ is a magnet school and is in a different league. McLean or Madison are a step down. This is not a put down-- its just the truth. Colleges recognize the quality of Langely and think of it in the same league as any private school in the area save perhaps Epicopal, St. Albans or GTown Prep. Look at the SAT scores-- they say it all. Challenging studies and highly motivated students make for a top notch program at Langely.

I'm a Langley parent, but this attitude is over the top. 'Best SAT' does not equal 'Best High School'. Langley teachers are great ... but if a child is having difficulty you better believe parents seek out and pay for tutoring. This doesn't mean Langley's program is 'better', it just means parents have more resources. It can also mean kids have more stress. And thank goodness many top-notch colleges are forgoing SAT scores, because they really tell very little about how a student will succeed in life.
Langley and McLean are both strong schools. 'Best' in this case is the environment in which your DC can best succeed.

We can all agree that langley students have the best cars , but thats about it

+1

[Anonymous]

And I'm sure the wealthy students at top private schools don't feel the same sense of privilege that plagues Langely. I would imagine the privates would be even worse.

[Anonymous]

When you are on the top of the mountain everyone is always trying to knock you off. The scores back up the ranking. Talk all you want about everything else but the SAT scores do not lie. Rich kids and poor kids take the same SAT test and they must take that test on their own. Next to TJ (which is a magnet school that draws the best and brightest from all over and has a very engineering focused program of study) Langely has the highest scores. That is a fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you are on the top of the mountain everyone is always trying to knock you off. The scores back up the ranking. Talk all you want about everything else but the SAT scores do not lie. Rich kids and poor kids take the same SAT test and they must take that test on their own. Next to TJ (which is a magnet school that draws the best and brightest from all over and has a very engineering focused program of study) Langely has the highest scores. That is a fact.

If the only factor that matters to you is the average SAT score of the entire school, then Langely is the best non magnet. Most parents feel that their is more to school than the average score for the school. Peer groups, social development, and worldly awareness are also important. Otherwise, we might as well homeschool. The peer groups at Langely are know to have a sense of entitlement. The social dynamics produce mean girls and groups of students who look down on the poor. I would never want my child to be in that atmosphere. Unless you are über wealthy, your child is made to feel poor. Again, I wouldn't want cars, clothes, and money to be such a pervasive element in my child's school. I'm sure you understand that SAT scores are not the only measure of a school. Besides, high SES students at ALL the high schools score well n the SATs. Langely just happens to have the highest concentration of the wealthy, leading to the highest average score.

[Anonymous]

We can argue all day long about those qualitative issues. I will say its not that way you will say it is. These are opinions. The test scores are objective.