Why are Fairfax County schools 'the best'?

[Anonymous]

So for background, My DH is a product of Fairfax County schools, and did just fine--graduated with whatever honors a high schooler can get, went to college, became a fine upstanding young man. On the other hand, I was in the county's gifted and talented program yet still did not do so well in the public school system. Eventually I excelled in private school...maybe not excelled but graduated, didn't go to jail, went to college, etc. Fast forward to today and we are looking at our children and their education, and the benefits of Fairfax vs Arlington County schools...I personally prefer the much smaller size of Arlington County vs Fairfax County schools due to my own experience, but everyone keeps telling me that Fairfax County is the best...

My question is this: I'm curious as to what the criteria are that are used by people who refer to Fairfax County schools as 'the best in the Nation'. Is this test scores, is this AP courses, is this college acceptance, is this academic programs, is this special services or is it a combination of the above? Any insight would be wonderful from this board...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So for background, My DH is a product of Fairfax County schools, and did just fine--graduated with whatever honors a high schooler can get, went to college, became a fine upstanding young man. On the other hand, I was in the county's gifted and talented program yet still did not do so well in the public school system. Eventually I excelled in private school...maybe not excelled but graduated, didn't go to jail, went to college, etc. Fast forward to today and we are looking at our children and their education, and the benefits of Fairfax vs Arlington County schools...I personally prefer the much smaller size of Arlington County vs Fairfax County schools due to my own experience, but everyone keeps telling me that Fairfax County is the best...

My question is this: I'm curious as to what the criteria are that are used by people who refer to Fairfax County schools as 'the best in the Nation'. Is this test scores, is this AP courses, is this college acceptance, is this academic programs, is this special services or is it a combination of the above? Any insight would be wonderful from this board...

I find it really hard to believe that "everyone" keeps telling you that Fairfax is the best in the area, much less the nation. If you like the Arlington system, go with your instincts.

Fairfax's reputation in the area reflects the fact that it's a big system so it naturally gets a lot of attention; it has more differentiated programs for gifted students than other jurisdictions; it is home to the nation's leading public magnet school (TJHSST); average SAT scores are higher than in other area jurisdictions of any size; and it doesn't have as many schools that serve majority FARMS students as its primary competitor for area bragging rights, Montgomery County.

But it's big and bureaucratic, which drives some people crazy, and kids in the great middle can easily get lost.

[Anonymous]

The people who spout "the best" system are looking at the top end of the spectrum in FCPS -- yes, we have some REALLY high achieving kids, some very affluent families, and some really high level programs (that only a tiny fraction get into). So, if you are looking at the top of the spectrum, they are REALLY excelling. However, those people spouting "the best" are ignoring the lower end of the FCPS system (not just the very bottom, but the kids who are at the schools that are just equal to the average public school in the nation.)

I think the label of being "the best" comes from having a larger than typical portion of kids coming from very high achieving families (and money).

I think you could get a great education in Arlington too -- but you just have to factor in the other aspects of your life (commute, housing costs) and factor in whether the specific school in Arlington is a high acheiving school.

Sometimes I wish I was in a smaller school district -- or maybe one where the parents weren't so demanding and vocal.

[Anonymous]

Both of those were great answers. I totally agree.

[Anonymous]

But Arlington schools are so overcrowded now, I am no longer sure if Arlington is an equivalent choice......

[Anonymous]

I think that a few of the reasons FCPS gets touted as one of the best nationwide is because it is 1) large and 2) graduates a lot of lower income and immigrant kids.

I grew up in the midwest and went to a high school filled with middle class to 1% (as in filthy rich) kids. The whole school district was basically upper middle class. I recently looked at their SAT averages etc. and they blow FCPS away. They were quite a bit higher than the top FCPS high schools like McLean and Langley - although I didn't compare to TJ. They are not diverse at all racially though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But Arlington schools are so overcrowded now, I am no longer sure if Arlington is an equivalent choice......

The more "desirable" Fairfax schools are just as crowded. They have had trailers for much longer than the Arlington schools.

Arlington, so far, has still placed a high value on keeping class sizes small. That doesn't seem to be the case in Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But Arlington schools are so overcrowded now, I am no longer sure if Arlington is an equivalent choice......

The more "desirable" Fairfax schools are just as crowded. They have had trailers for much longer than the Arlington schools.

Arlington, so far, has still placed a high value on keeping class sizes small. That doesn't seem to be the case in Fairfax.

I read posts like this and I (sometimes) think that people just have to get real. Contemplating "best" school districts comparing Arlington and Fairfax County strikes me as akin to contemplating which luxury villa in Tuscany might be a better choice for a vacation -- give it a rest, people, we're talking a vacation in Tuscany here as compared to two nights at the Comfort Inn in Daytona Beach.

[Anonymous]

In my opionon Fairfax County - mclean and langley high schools are horrible. The bathrooms at Langley are disgusting, they have a hugh drug problem and the average student does not excell there. We could be doing so much better.

[Anonymous]

I read posts like this and I (sometimes) think that people just have to get real. Contemplating "best" school districts comparing Arlington and Fairfax County strikes me as akin to contemplating which luxury villa in Tuscany might be a better choice for a vacation -- give it a rest, people, we're talking a vacation in Tuscany here as compared to two nights at the Comfort Inn in Daytona Beach.

I agree with this, and I also believe that the cream rises to the top no matter what school system you are in. Smart, motivated kids with parents who value education are going to do well just about anywhere (barring really extreme circumstances - which we are not talking about in ACPS or FCPS) and they will go on to be successful in college, grad school & careers.

I remember tormenting myself over which of two very nice preschools to send my oldest to, and eventually saying "what is the worst that could happen if I pick the "wrong" one?" Nothing! It's essentially the same thing here. I love FCPS and we bought in-boundary for what we concluded was an excellent elementary school, but I'm pretty sure my kids would be doing quite well if they were in any other FCPS school, or Arlington, or MoCo, or just about any "acceptable" school district.

Interestingly, I've read several times that the single most influential factor in a child's academic success is the education level of the mother (but not the father), followed by high socio-economic status, then followed by parental expectations of high achievement. Kids that have these 3 factors working in their favor tend to do much better academically than their peers who lack these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my opionon Fairfax County - mclean and langley high schools are horrible. The bathrooms at Langley are disgusting, they have a hugh drug problem and the average student does not excell there. We could be doing so much better.

Get back to class, honey. Saxon time is over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I read posts like this and I (sometimes) think that people just have to get real. Contemplating "best" school districts comparing Arlington and Fairfax County strikes me as akin to contemplating which luxury villa in Tuscany might be a better choice for a vacation -- give it a rest, people, we're talking a vacation in Tuscany here as compared to two nights at the Comfort Inn in Daytona Beach.

I agree with this, and I also believe that the cream rises to the top no matter what school system you are in. Smart, motivated kids with parents who value education are going to do well just about anywhere (barring really extreme circumstances - which we are not talking about in ACPS or FCPS) and they will go on to be successful in college, grad school & careers.

I remember tormenting myself over which of two very nice preschools to send my oldest to, and eventually saying "what is the worst that could happen if I pick the "wrong" one?" Nothing! It's essentially the same thing here. I love FCPS and we bought in-boundary for what we concluded was an excellent elementary school, but I'm pretty sure my kids would be doing quite well if they were in any other FCPS school, or Arlington, or MoCo, or just about any "acceptable" school district.

Interestingly, I've read several times that the single most influential factor in a child's academic success is the education level of the mother (but not the father), followed by high socio-economic status, then followed by parental expectations of high achievement. Kids that have these 3 factors working in their favor tend to do much better academically than their peers who lack these things.

+1

[Anonymous]

We wanted the AAP program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But Arlington schools are so overcrowded now, I am no longer sure if Arlington is an equivalent choice......

The more "desirable" Fairfax schools are just as crowded. They have had trailers for much longer than the Arlington schools.

Arlington, so far, has still placed a high value on keeping class sizes small. That doesn't seem to be the case in Fairfax.

Empirical research proves no correlation between class size and achievement, except in very limited circumstances. The decline in "social capital" is far more important.

[Anonymous]

What does that mean?