Marshall "3rd for Best School"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually, USNews rank was based on 99% IB participation, which Marshall does not have.

No one.
Not one single person on this thread has said that Marshall does have 99% IB participation and that it was rightly ranked 3rd last year.
No one has said that Marshall is superior to other top FCPS schools.

And i can guarantee that is Langley or McLean were ranked #3, no one would ever think to question the data, even though it may be as incorrect as the 99% Marshall data.

Marshall is a great school
Marshall likely does not have 99% IB participation
US News and World Reports retracted some schools rankings based on incorrect data.
It did not retract Marshall's ranking.
A year has gone by.
New rankings have been released.

Who gives a crap what last year's rankings were?
It's over. Move on.

So you agree that it was never ranked 3 but can't admit that maybe the school and other posters went overboard touting the #3 rank because now it's time to move on? Ok.

[Anonymous]

It WAS ranked #3. The IB participation was a small part of the whole calculation and still no one knows what they used to determine the percentage of IB participants. Yes, the school went overboard on it and the sign should be taken down now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, for God's sake. People in this area are so ridiculous.

Yes, Marshall is a very good school. Third in the state is very good (assuming you buy into US News rankings) and #16 in the state is also very good. In general, Fairfax County has excellent schools. It would be very difficult to go wrong. Differences in rankings through US News or through Great Schools are about DEMOGRAPHICS. Who cares if a school like Oakton or Langley has slightly higher scores? The scores are slightly higher because they have slightly fewer poor kids. It doesn't mean the teaching is better, which is what we should really care about. The problem, of course, is that quality of teaching is incredibly difficult to measure. So instead we just prattle on endlessly about test scores like there's some meaningful difference between the education kids get at Langley vs. Woodson or McLean vs. Marshall. Give me a freaking break.

OP here. I am not as familiar with all the schools in Fairfax County as you seem to be, so maybe I am placing too much emphasis on rankings to help us decide. From the responses, it seems likely that the high "3rd for best school" ranking for Marshall was based on "bad data" and that school officials knew this and publicized it anyway. As someone with a research background, that troubles me, as it raises questions about academic integrity and the values the school seeks to promote among its students. At this point we plan to look elsewhere and will be crossing Pimmit Hills and Marshall off our list of options.

I challenge you to find a school, any school, in any country, that will say "yes, we'
ve been ranked #very good by a national publication, but we aren't going to mention it anywhere since the data they've based it all is suspect. So we are just going to keep saying we're number #simply good."

A ridiculous challenge. How many schools would paint big signs and revamp websites knowingly based on bad data? Maybe just Marshall.

[Anonymous]

Ok. A Fairfax lady says this year Fairfax's numbers are inaccurate. Is Fairfax or FCPS going to examine the numbers? I doubt it.
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/districts/fairfax-county-public-schools/fairfax-high-school-20437

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It WAS ranked #3. The IB participation was a small part of the whole calculation and still no one knows what they used to determine the percentage of IB participants. Yes, the school went overboard on it and the sign should be taken down now.

US News purported to follow a formula, and IB/AP participation was a key input. In Marshall's case, the wrong rate was used and this was obvious.

Someone argued on this thread that the #3 ranking was like Obama's getting an undeserved Nobel Peace Prize, but not returning it. Poor analogy. A Nobel Peace Prize reflects a subjective assessment by the Nobel Committee and everyone recognizes this.

A better analogy would be an athlete from a small country like Malta winning an Olympic medal because a timer malfunctioned. Does Malta return the medal, or does it keep the medal, throw a big parade for the athlete and then, when it finally concedes the timer malfunctioned, argue it shouldn't return the medal because China and the U.S. usually win the most medals and not that many people really watch the Olympics now anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok. A Fairfax lady says this year Fairfax's numbers are inaccurate. Is Fairfax or FCPS going to examine the numbers? I doubt it.
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/districts/fairfax-county-public-schools/fairfax-high-school-20437

See any difference between these two web pages?

http://www.fcps.edu/FairfaxHS/

http://www.fcps.edu/MarshallHS/

[Anonymous]

Our catholic church has a sign saying it's a Blue Ribbon School even though it hasn't been reviewed in over 5 years and has many people unhappy with the schooling. If Marshall doesn't take it down over the summer, I'll consider them unethical, but until then, I don't think they're doing anything out of the ordinary.

[Anonymous]

15:07 We get it. You think it's over the top and unwarranted. I think over the past how many comments you've made your point.

[Anonymous]

Link to article on schools that were retracted last year by US News
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2012/07/20/final-adjustments-to-best-high-schools-rankings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11:46 - There is no point in responding to the ethically challenged. Your words speak for themselves.

11:53 - Did you miss Crazy Marshall Lady in action for many months. Lots of lower-case posts trashing other schools and communities, often four or five posts within a couple of minutes, frequently but not always late at night. Lives and dies by GreatSchools ratings, Redfin, and a single DCIst post from January that said Pimmit Hills and Petworth were hot.

You are lumping together about 10 different people. Have you thought that maybe many people like to tout positive points about places other than McLean or North Arlington?

Uh-huh. Sybil had 16 personalities, so I guess that means you have six left to waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It WAS ranked #3. The IB participation was a small part of the whole calculation and still no one knows what they used to determine the percentage of IB participants. Yes, the school went overboard on it and the sign should be taken down now.

US News purported to follow a formula, and IB/AP participation was a key input. In Marshall's case, the wrong rate was used and this was obvious.

Someone argued on this thread that the #3 ranking was like Obama's getting an undeserved Nobel Peace Prize, but not returning it. Poor analogy. A Nobel Peace Prize reflects a subjective assessment by the Nobel Committee and everyone recognizes this.

A better analogy would be an athlete from a small country like Malta winning an Olympic medal because a timer malfunctioned. Does Malta return the medal, or does it keep the medal, throw a big parade for the athlete and then, when it finally concedes the timer malfunctioned, argue it shouldn't return the medal because China and the U.S. usually win the most medals and not that many people really watch the Olympics now anyway.

CAML IN THE HOUSE!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11:46 - There is no point in responding to the ethically challenged. Your words speak for themselves.

11:53 - Did you miss Crazy Marshall Lady in action for many months. Lots of lower-case posts trashing other schools and communities, often four or five posts within a couple of minutes, frequently but not always late at night. Lives and dies by GreatSchools ratings, Redfin, and a single DCIst post from January that said Pimmit Hills and Petworth were hot.

You are lumping together about 10 different people. Have you thought that maybe many people like to tout positive points about places other than McLean or North Arlington?

Uh-huh. Sybil had 16 personalities, so I guess that means you have six left to waste.

CAML IN THE HOUSE!

[Anonymous]

Now I understand what drove crazy Marshall lady crazy. MOVE ON!

[Anonymous]

Q: What's the only thing worse than a Crazy Marshall Lady?

A: Crazy Marshall Ladies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our catholic church has a sign saying it's a Blue Ribbon School even though it hasn't been reviewed in over 5 years and has many people unhappy with the schooling. If Marshall doesn't take it down over the summer, I'll consider them unethical, but until then, I don't think they're doing anything out of the ordinary.

Was the school awarded the Blue Ribbon based on 99% IB participation or other false data? If not, the two situations are not analogous.