Marshall "3rd for Best School"

[Anonymous]

Whatever....

And, yes, you are placing too much emphasis on rankings.

As far as academici integrity goes, Marshall is the same as any other FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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 am so relieved to hear that! Pimmit Hills is a lovely, multicultural neighborhood with a perfect mix of older, original owners and young families, blue and white collar workers, and new and older homes. Marshall's "academic integrity and the values the school seeks to promote among its students" are outstanding, and my kids thrived there and then went on to great colleges where both recieved academic scholarships as a result of rigorous IB preparation. I love the character of my neighborhood -- and neighbors -- and am happy you pass us over. The longer we fly under the radar, the longer it will take for us to be overrun by snots like you.

[Anonymous]

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.

OP, I can't help but think you're a troll. If not, please forgive me. There is one poster who loves to dig Marshall whenever she can and is particularly obsessed with the US News ranking from last year. If you really are a researcher, I would assume you wouldn't rely on one data point. Marshall is a great school. Many families are happy with it for various reasons. If I were interested in buying in a certain school boundary area, I'd check it out myself and not rely on an anonymous Internet forum. Why not go visit the school and see how you like it? To me, it doesn't seem that you are interested on doing anything other than bashing it. Go ahead if that's exciting for you. But if you want to have a real discussion about Marshall instead of constant comparison and bashing, I suspect there are some here that would welcome that.

[Anonymous]

I haven't heard that FCPS gave anyone bad data. US news just rated that particular school high. They also rated U of Chicago above MIT this year. Everyone has their own methodology.

[Anonymous]

The Marshall boosters tout the #3 rank when it suits them. Then when faced with the incorrect 99% data, they ignore the ranking. What a teaching moment it would have been to say "we're not 99% IB but we're great for the following reasons. . . ." Instead they were opportunistic and liars. Yeah, whatever.

[Anonymous]

Our elementary school got a high award from the state and I think it's very lacking especially with classes 35 students large. My workplace also got an award for how well it treats their employees which is entirely undeserved, yet both of these awards are on the front page of their websites. No one knows for sure what data US News used and whether it was correct or not last year, it's just the overall consensus on DCUM was that the school was rated a little higher than expected last year compared to some of the more affluent schools nearby. That's all. No big conspiracy.

[Anonymous]

I see a lot of circling the wagons here. I can appreciate that, because people often are deeply invested in their schools, but it's also a basic principle of communications that "when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging."

I wonder whether the OP's reaction would have been different had even a single Marshall parent said "yeah, it's embarassing that the school made a big deal out of a ranking that turned out to be based on incorrect data, but we've asked the principal to make sure this doesn't happen again, and we're still a great school."

[Anonymous]

It's embarassing that Marshall made a big deal out of a ranking that turned out to be based on incorrect data, but we've asked the principal to make sure this doesn't happen again. And we're still a great school!

[Anonymous]

This year Madison is ranked higher than McLean or Oakton. Typically it's been below these schools and is known for having a not so great principal. I don't hear Madison clamoring to say that their ranking is too high. Fairfax, Chantilly, and Robinson are also rated higher than I've seen them in the past. If I were doing rankings, I'd rate Marshall around the same level as Robinson and Lake Braddock. It could just be that the vocational classes they offer bring their average down. There are houses in the district that cost upwards of $2 million. Unless you have a child at the school and know about other schools, I don't know how you'd be so certain that one was definitely higher than the other. People did call out the potentially faulty rating of Marshall last year at the beginning of this post.

[Anonymous]

If OP were more sincere, she'd be having a more detailed discussion like this verses debating one year's rankings from an outside source.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/308363.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If OP were more sincere, she'd be having a more detailed discussion like this verses debating one year's rankings from an outside source.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/308363.page

Well, to be fair, wasn't there a Marshall booster who spent a year citing the 2012 US News rankings every time a question came up about NoVa high schools? Why is it that someone who asks about them now immediately gets called "insincere" and a "troll"? It seems harsh, if not hypocritical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's embarassing that Marshall made a big deal out of a ranking that turned out to be based on incorrect data, but we've asked the principal to make sure this doesn't happen again. And we're still a great school!

Now there you go.

[Anonymous]

It's not because she asked, it's because she bashed a school saying it didn't have academic integrity because they promoted a ranking they received after getting a few responses off the internet. Also, she says she's a researcher, but never even bothered to look at the old threads here. I felt the McLean, Madison, and Marshall bashers were about even if you look back at them. Why would someone go through the trouble of considering buying a home and base all their knowledge on one rating, good or bad?

[Anonymous]

I suspect that the OP is the same poster who spent most of the thread talking about the 99% statistic and how wrong the rankings were last year, just trying to start more drama to entertain herself.

This poster has a huge problem with Marshall for some reason and goes completely bat$#~+ crazy whenever anyone mentions or asks about the rankings.

If the OP were genuine, I doubt he/she would be completely abandoning their plans to build a new home because of a few anonymous posts.

And now, please sit back and enjoy your popcorn while she accuses me of being the "crazy Marshall lady" when I have said nothing to either support or deflate Marshall.

[Anonymous]

Can you really build new in Pimmit Hills for $750,000? That seems very inexpensive for the Tysons area. Maybe I'll take their place!