Difference between high schools in Fairfax, VA

[Anonymous]

We love the look and feel of Fairfax, VA. Many of the homes I like feed into Fairfax High. I know Woodson is supposed to be top notch.

How does Fairfax High compare to Woodson High? Is Oakton in the middle?

[Anonymous]

FCPS has several top notch schools: in no particular order, Woodson, Madison, Oakton, Langley, Mclean. There is probably not an appreciable difference between Oakton and Woodson.

I am not sure how Fairfax compares.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax has an incredible arts program. Since it is an academy school they also have impressive computer graphics, digital media, design classes. Etc

Beyond that I would rank all 3 about even although I believe oakton is the only one that hasn't been renovated recently.

[Anonymous]

You need to stop posting threads asking about schools and come out here and visit them yourself. People are going to tout whatever school they are districted for.

[Anonymous]

Woodson and Oakton have higher test scores than Fairfax. Fairfax is in the middle of the rankings for the county high schools. You'll see some difference in home prices - you can generally get a bit more house/land in the Fairfax boundary than Woodson or Oakton. I think Oakton is a bit more expensive than Woodson, probably because of proximity to Tysons. (and maybe metro.)

You should also take into account school size, etc. Oakton is a big school, bigger than the other 2, I think.
(I have no horse in this race - recently moved from Fairfax to Arlington; my daughter is very young.)

[Anonymous]

Marshall has better scores than woodson, I would never have believed this 14 years a go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Marshall has better scores than woodson, I would never have believed this 14 years a go.

Marshall has IB and Woodson has AP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Marshall has better scores than woodson, I would never have believed this 14 years a go.

Maybe on some SOLs, but the SAT scores at Woodson are higher than at Marshall and are likely to remain so. The higher-income areas in Vienna that feed into Marshall are wealthier than any areas that feed into Woodson, but there are more lower-income areas zoned for Marshall as well.

Those are just the facts; both are very good schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marshall has better scores than woodson, I would never have believed this 14 years a go.

Marshall has IB and Woodson has AP.

That has little to do with the higher scores. The neighborhoods around Marshall and Pimmit Hills improved a lot. The gang presence no longer exists. And many more students come from upper income households than before. 15 years ago the school was mostly lower to middle income. Since then, all the new single family home construction in the area has been high end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Woodson and Oakton have higher test scores than Fairfax. Fairfax is in the middle of the rankings for the county high schools. You'll see some difference in home prices - you can generally get a bit more house/land in the Fairfax boundary than Woodson or Oakton. I think Oakton is a bit more expensive than Woodson, probably because of proximity to Tysons. (and maybe metro.)

You should also take into account school size, etc. Oakton is a big school, bigger than the other 2, I think.
(I have no horse in this race - recently moved from Fairfax to Arlington; my daughter is very young.)

Nope - Fairfax has gotten larger and now has 400 more students than Oakton, which is now slightly bigger than Woodson. And the primary reasons that homes in Oakton are more expensive than those in the Woodson district is that they tend to be newer and bigger, though proxitimity to Tysons may also be a reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marshall has better scores than woodson, I would never have believed this 14 years a go.

Marshall has IB and Woodson has AP.

That has little to do with the higher scores. The neighborhoods around Marshall and Pimmit Hills improved a lot. The gang presence no longer exists. And many more students come from upper income households than before. 15 years ago the school was mostly lower to middle income. Since then, all the new single family home construction in the area has been high end.

That's correct - there's been a lot of new single-family housing built in 22043 in Falls Church and 22182 in Vienna in the last 20 years and it's all been high-end stuff. That's also true for the new townhouses that feed into Marshall - a lot of $650-850K townhouses near Tysons and 1-2 complexes in McLean that are even more expensive. The only new housing in the district that's less expensive is some of the stuff near the Dunn Loring metro.

If the county ends up mandating a lot of subsidized or lower-priced housing in Tysons when it gets redeveloped, however, that dynamic could change.

[Anonymous]

Given those three schools, I'd be more concerned about the house than the school.

With that said, any of Stuart/Falls Church/Route 1-land might give me *some* pause, but even those have good feeders and great neighborhoods within their boundaries.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those "All FCPS schools are equally great" people, but I'm also not a "Langley/McLean/Yorktown or private" type either.

10:41, in theory you could divide up the poors in Tysons between McLean, Marshall, and Madison. But then that would require adjusting boundaries and no one wants that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marshall has better scores than woodson, I would never have believed this 14 years a go.

Marshall has IB and Woodson has AP.

That has little to do with the higher scores.

I never said it did. I was pointing out a fact. Some prefer IB and others prefer AP and still others don't care at all.

[Anonymous]

In terms of real estate value, Oakton, Madison or Woodson are your safest bets. I grew up around here (Woodson grad - excellent school), but I think you can get a good education at any of the schools you mention. You also might look at schools in the Robinson pyramid. So, I really think it comes down to neighborhood, commute, etc...

[Anonymous]

I went to woodson 15 years a go, it has gone down hill and is behind Marshall in terms of education and test scores. The only people that will tell you other wise are still stuck in the mindset of 15 years a go. Compare the values of the houses and the incomes of the feeding population and you will see a major difference than 15 years a go.