What’s the allure of Fairfax County

[Anonymous]

What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

I agree that, within a county, there is variation in the distribution of excellence of schools - as there is variation in any population of anything that has ever existed in human society. But we can still rank two distributions by any number of metrics that usually involve comparing the right tails, or the "best" of both distributions. Those who believe that Fairfax provides a better public education than other counties around the DMV would point to Fairfax having:

1. (One of) The highest ranked high schools in the US in TJ (regardless of the recent controversies)
2. Higher ranking high schools (Langley, Mclean...) in general
3. The Highest average SAT scores within the top 1,3, or 5 top high schools
4. the most National Merit scholars (by total and per capita)
5. the most Presidential scholars
6. the most number of HYPSM attendees

etc...

We can argue the merits of those metrics, but anyone outside the DMV might glance at those metrics and say "yeah, Fairfax schools are better, on average, than MoCo schools".

[Anonymous]

FCPS needs some humility. They boast too much. They take credit they don't deserve, considering the county demographics. A highly educated area and affluent.

Heaven help FCPS if they can't do a good job - with what they've been given.

[Anonymous]

I can't take anyone who raised their family in North Arlington seriously. Gag. That's the last place in the world I would want to live - DH and I lived there for a year when we had a baby. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Everywhere I went, I was the only brown person. It was disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't take anyone who raised their family in North Arlington seriously. Gag. That's the last place in the world I would want to live - DH and I lived there for a year when we had a baby. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Everywhere I went, I was the only brown person. It was disgusting.

I’m not brown but I had a similar reaction. Nothing about north Arlington is different than many parts of Fairfax County. I don’t get OP’s air of superiority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs some humility. They boast too much. They take credit they don't deserve, considering the county demographics. A highly educated area and affluent.

Heaven help FCPS if they can't do a good job - with what they've been given.

DP, but all counties around the DMV are highly educated and affluent. 5 counties are at the top list of highest median incomes. But somehow FCPS is sought after. Please pray for Heaven to help Arlington and Alexandria to do better with their education systems with what they've been given.

[Anonymous]

For us it was simple. Most the schools are pretty good in Nova and I absolutely hate the feeling of the "old" houses in Arlington and much of McLean. I prefer the Tysons area where I can have a newish house and a garage. I spend a lot of money on cars and I'm not going to let it become a birds' nest like most Georgetown/Arlington/DC area residents. I lived in Chevy Chase and found the people too old and stuffy. So, I like it in fairfax, generally

[Anonymous]

I'm in Arlington now because my friends are here and my job is in DC and the schools are good. But I lived in fairfax for years and there are some great neighborhoods there. There are great neighborhoods all over, though, especially in alexandria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

I agree that, within a county, there is variation in the distribution of excellence of schools - as there is variation in any population of anything that has ever existed in human society. But we can still rank two distributions by any number of metrics that usually involve comparing the right tails, or the "best" of both distributions. Those who believe that Fairfax provides a better public education than other counties around the DMV would point to Fairfax having:

1. (One of) The highest ranked high schools in the US in TJ (regardless of the recent controversies)

Rank high on papers but get bit€h-slap every by MoCo schools

2. Higher ranking high schools (Langley, Mclean...) in general
In MoCo in general. No one outside of FFX think much about FCPS schools besides TJ

3. The Highest average SAT scores within the top 1,3, or 5 top high schools
That's in MoCo

4. the most National Merit scholars (by total and per capita)
The most NMSF per capita is MoCo
.
5. the most Presidential scholars
MoCo
6. the most number of HYPSM attendees
MoCo

etc...

We can argue the merits of those metrics, but anyone outside the DMV might glance at those metrics and say "yeah, Fairfax schools are better, on average, than MoCo schools".

Fact is FCPS cannot compete with MCPS. The score is 40-7, MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

There's only one school in FFX worth mentioning : TJ. The rest are average at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

I agree that, within a county, there is variation in the distribution of excellence of schools - as there is variation in any population of anything that has ever existed in human society. But we can still rank two distributions by any number of metrics that usually involve comparing the right tails, or the "best" of both distributions. Those who believe that Fairfax provides a better public education than other counties around the DMV would point to Fairfax having:

1. (One of) The highest ranked high schools in the US in TJ (regardless of the recent controversies)
2. Higher ranking high schools (Langley, Mclean...) in general
3. The Highest average SAT scores within the top 1,3, or 5 top high schools
4. the most National Merit scholars (by total and per capita)
5. the most Presidential scholars
6. the most number of HYPSM attendees

etc...

We can argue the merits of those metrics, but anyone outside the DMV might glance at those metrics and say "yeah, Fairfax schools are better, on average, than MoCo schools".

Arlington sends kids to TJ.

Every W school is as good if not better than Langley or McLean

Langley or McLean aren’t so much better than Yorktown or Washington-Liberty that they’re worth living in hell for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

There's only one school in FFX worth mentioning : TJ. The rest are average at best.

And TJ is great, but TJ isn't a regular school and no regular kids are getting in there. Majority of you fools in DCUM won't or can't get your kids in there even if you move your house next to it.

[Anonymous]

Living in hell? Wow, hyperbole much?

There are over a million people in Fairfax County with a huge amount of different types of neighborhoods. There are condos, townhomes, older single families, newer single families, McMansions and actual mansions. You can live on the water, you can live in a town, you can live in a city like high rise on the metro line. Some places are right next to 66, others are horse farms with lots of land (Clifton, great falls). From my house not far off of route 50, I can get to horse farms in 10 minutes. Actually, in the other direction is frying pan park which is a working farm with a horse training facility.

Stop trying to paint the entire county with a broad brush. There are so many different kinds of housing and surroundings. I’ve lived in Fairfax County most of my past 25 years, and none of those places were the same - a condo near Huntington metro, a high rise near seven corners, a th in Kingstowne, a th in Reston and now a single family house by Chantilly hs where we are raising our girls. All these places had their pros and cons, but they were all very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

There's only one school in FFX worth mentioning : TJ. The rest are average at best.

And TJ is great, but TJ isn't a regular school and no regular kids are getting in there. Majority of you fools in DCUM won't or can't get your kids in there even if you move your house next to it.

DC attracts a workforce that has higher academic credentials (ivy, lawyers, phds, etc) than most of the rest of the US and who were likely identified as GT in grade school. Many would think that their kids have a shot at TJ because they were GT themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

I agree that, within a county, there is variation in the distribution of excellence of schools - as there is variation in any population of anything that has ever existed in human society. But we can still rank two distributions by any number of metrics that usually involve comparing the right tails, or the "best" of both distributions. Those who believe that Fairfax provides a better public education than other counties around the DMV would point to Fairfax having:

1. (One of) The highest ranked high schools in the US in TJ (regardless of the recent controversies)
2. Higher ranking high schools (Langley, Mclean...) in general
3. The Highest average SAT scores within the top 1,3, or 5 top high schools
4. the most National Merit scholars (by total and per capita)
5. the most Presidential scholars
6. the most number of HYPSM attendees

etc...

We can argue the merits of those metrics, but anyone outside the DMV might glance at those metrics and say "yeah, Fairfax schools are better, on average, than MoCo schools".

Arlington sends kids to TJ.

Every W school is as good if not better than Langley or McLean

Langley or McLean aren’t so much better than Yorktown or Washington-Liberty that they’re worth living in hell for.

Wrong, apart from the bit about APS sending a few kids to TJ, but keep talking. You know who is top dog, and so does everyone else.