2014 US New High School Rankings Released FCPS Dominates the Top 10

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with a child at one of these top 10 schools, let me just say:

These high school rankings are stupid and deeply offensive.

+1. I think the ranking of high schools is very stupid. College admissions boards don't care if you went to a highly ranked high school (except to the extent they think you faced challenging circumstances that you overcame), and when you enter the workforce, no one cares what high school you went to. Depending on the profession, people might care about what college or graduate school you went to, but not your high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with a child at one of these top 10 schools, let me just say:

These high school rankings are stupid and deeply offensive.

+1. I think the ranking of high schools is very stupid. College admissions boards don't care if you went to a highly ranked high school (except to the extent they think you faced challenging circumstances that you overcame), and when you enter the workforce, no one cares what high school you went to. Depending on the profession, people might care about what college or graduate school you went to, but not your high school.

Seriously, you protest too much. Other things being equal, parents will prefer to send their kids to high schools where most students not only pass the basic state exams like SOLs, but also take AP/IB courses and get passing scores on the year-end exams. And kids are more likely to be challenged, and to challenge themseles, if they have plenty of motivated peers. It doesn't really have anything to do with whether it's a good idea to put your HS or your SAT scores on your resume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with a child at one of these top 10 schools, let me just say:

These high school rankings are stupid and deeply offensive.

What is offensive and stupid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with a child at one of these top 10 schools, let me just say:

These high school rankings are stupid and deeply offensive.

+1. I think the ranking of high schools is very stupid. College admissions boards don't care if you went to a highly ranked high school (except to the extent they think you faced challenging circumstances that you overcame), and when you enter the workforce, no one cares what high school you went to. Depending on the profession, people might care about what college or graduate school you went to, but not your high school.

While no one cares which high school you went to high school is supposed to prepare you for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with a child at one of these top 10 schools, let me just say:

These high school rankings are stupid and deeply offensive.

+1. I think the ranking of high schools is very stupid. College admissions boards don't care if you went to a highly ranked high school (except to the extent they think you faced challenging circumstances that you overcame), and when you enter the workforce, no one cares what high school you went to. Depending on the profession, people might care about what college or graduate school you went to, but not your high school.

Seriously, you protest too much. Other things being equal, parents will prefer to send their kids to high schools where most students not only pass the basic state exams like SOLs, but also take AP/IB courses and get passing scores on the year-end exams. And kids are more likely to be challenged, and to challenge themseles, if they have plenty of motivated peers. It doesn't really have anything to do with whether it's a good idea to put your HS or your SAT scores on your resume.

I don't disagree but I think there are very few high schools, if any, in Northern Virginia where that can't be accomplished. When you're talking about achievement gaps like exist between, say, FFX County schools vs. PG County schools, I think the difference is meaningful. When you're talking about the difference between, say, McLean and Edison HS, the difference is not very meaningful. All of the schools in FFX County will have the opportunities for advanced academic achievement and will have a large enough cohort of like-minded students (assuming you child is such a motivated student). The primary difference will be in the size of that motivated group of students, which can cut both ways, depending on the particular child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with a child at one of these top 10 schools, let me just say:

These high school rankings are stupid and deeply offensive.

+1. I think the ranking of high schools is very stupid. College admissions boards don't care if you went to a highly ranked high school (except to the extent they think you faced challenging circumstances that you overcame), and when you enter the workforce, no one cares what high school you went to. Depending on the profession, people might care about what college or graduate school you went to, but not your high school.

While no one cares which high school you went to high school is supposed to prepare you for college.

Really? I never thought about that. In that case, I guess you better make sure you buy that house zoned for the highest ranked HS. Then, you can rest assured, that your child will be maximally prepared for college, right?

[Anonymous]

Ohhh shit marshall is back in the top 10 hollllllaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Anonymous]

Don't cheap out and buy in these districts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with a child at one of these top 10 schools, let me just say:

These high school rankings are stupid and deeply offensive.

+1. I think the ranking of high schools is very stupid. College admissions boards don't care if you went to a highly ranked high school (except to the extent they think you faced challenging circumstances that you overcame), and when you enter the workforce, no one cares what high school you went to. Depending on the profession, people might care about what college or graduate school you went to, but not your high school.

Seriously, you protest too much. Other things being equal, parents will prefer to send their kids to high schools where most students not only pass the basic state exams like SOLs, but also take AP/IB courses and get passing scores on the year-end exams. And kids are more likely to be challenged, and to challenge themseles, if they have plenty of motivated peers. It doesn't really have anything to do with whether it's a good idea to put your HS or your SAT scores on your resume.

I don't disagree but I think there are very few high schools, if any, in Northern Virginia where that can't be accomplished. When you're talking about achievement gaps like exist between, say, FFX County schools vs. PG County schools, I think the difference is meaningful. When you're talking about the difference between, say, McLean and Edison HS, the difference is not very meaningful. All of the schools in FFX County will have the opportunities for advanced academic achievement and will have a large enough cohort of like-minded students (assuming you child is such a motivated student). The primary difference will be in the size of that motivated group of students, which can cut both ways, depending on the particular child.

So you're basically arguing that rankings like this are irrelevant because the hypothetical "Motivated Student from the Good Home" can do just as well as Edison and McLean. OK, I get that, and some of the information collected by US News supports that conclusion. For example, the pass rate of Edison students on IB exams is a percentage point higher than the pass rate of McLean students on AP exams, although a higher percentage of McLean students take AP exams, and they take more exams per student.

But the US News ratings aren't intended to prove or disprove whether the Motivated Student from the Good Home can thrive. At least in theory, they are trying to measure how the entire student body is doing, taking into account and adjusting for its demographic mix. So if you look at the Edison data, what you find is that Edison isn't in the "unrated" category this year because US News concluded that Motivated Student from the Good Home would not succeed there. It's in the unrated category because the US News model determined that, after adjusting for the percentage of low-income and non-Asian minorities at the school, the student performance on SOLs was below expectations for a high school in Virginia.

Should that matter to the parents of Motivated Student from the Good Home who got a "Proficient" on all his/her SOLs, or his/her family? Maybe not, though the market provides some insight as to what parents believe. Or should it matter to other parents, who might want to know if their kid is going to pass the SOLs, or to Edison's administration? Perhaps. I don't think you can swear by these rankings, because every one is different, but people should at least understand what they try to measure.

[Anonymous]

Don't gamble with unknowns I would rather not take my chances with the lower rated schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with a child at one of these top 10 schools, let me just say:

These high school rankings are stupid and deeply offensive.

+1. I think the ranking of high schools is very stupid. College admissions boards don't care if you went to a highly ranked high school (except to the extent they think you faced challenging circumstances that you overcame), and when you enter the workforce, no one cares what high school you went to. Depending on the profession, people might care about what college or graduate school you went to, but not your high school.

Well--they care in a sense that they place a quota on the maximum number of kids they will accept from a single HS. You are f*cked if you are at a super-competitive HS.

I was 10 out of 729 at a FairfaX Co HS. If I was at a much more competitive I know my ranking would have been much lower and it would have been a much more stressful and competitive environment. Some of those places are literal pressure cookers and sadly we are seeing kids take their own lives in greater numbers.

I'll take 'big fish in small pond' any day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with a child at one of these top 10 schools, let me just say:

These high school rankings are stupid and deeply offensive.

+1. I think the ranking of high schools is very stupid. College admissions boards don't care if you went to a highly ranked high school (except to the extent they think you faced challenging circumstances that you overcame), and when you enter the workforce, no one cares what high school you went to. Depending on the profession, people might care about what college or graduate school you went to, but not your high school.

Well--they care in a sense that they place a quota on the maximum number of kids they will accept from a single HS. You are f*cked if you are at a super-competitive HS.

I was 10 out of 729 at a FairfaX Co HS. If I was at a much more competitive I know my ranking would have been much lower and it would have been a much more stressful and competitive environment. Some of those places are literal pressure cookers and sadly we are seeing kids take their own lives in greater numbers.

I'll take 'big fish in small pond' any day.

There aren't necessarily quotas, so you may just be viewed as having attended a less rigorous school.

[Anonymous]

I don't plan to start bragging until my kid gets into a school that actually screens admissions. Wtf is the point of this list? It's not as if these schools are selective (other than TJ, of course). They are public schools, for god's sake!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't plan to start bragging until my kid gets into a school that actually screens admissions. Wtf is the point of this list? It's not as if these schools are selective (other than TJ, of course). They are public schools, for god's sake!

Well, if you were really a DC urban mom, you'd understand. Everything in life whether it is my child's school, my house, my neighborhood, my job, my husband, my looks, etc. must be strictly ranked and compared to everyone else. And I WON'T stop until I get to the top of every list there is. I'll probably die before I reach the top of every list, but at least my tombstone will say I died on my climb to the top. Upwards on onwards! DC urban mom for life!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't plan to start bragging until my kid gets into a school that actually screens admissions. Wtf is the point of this list? It's not as if these schools are selective (other than TJ, of course). They are public schools, for god's sake!

Well, if you were really a DC urban mom, you'd understand. Everything in life whether it is my child's school, my house, my neighborhood, my job, my husband, my looks, etc. must be strictly ranked and compared to everyone else. And I WON'T stop until I get to the top of every list there is. I'll probably die before I reach the top of every list, but at least my tombstone will say I died on my climb to the top. Upwards on onwards! DC urban mom for life!

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