High school SAT scores in Northern Virginia (2016)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yawn hey guess what if you group the schools by average household income..... you get the exact same list in the exact same order

Our schools are so great..... not

It's not that linear, nor would a correlation detract from the high quality of the best schools.

lol keep telling yourself that guessing you overpaid to be in one of the "top districts" lolz

Look your precious snowflake could have gone to Braddock or Robinson same results and you would have saved 500k on your house lolz

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yawn hey guess what if you group the schools by average household income..... you get the exact same list in the exact same order

Our schools are so great..... not

It's not that linear, nor would a correlation detract from the high quality of the best schools.

lol keep telling yourself that guessing you overpaid to be in one of the "top districts" lolz

Look your precious snowflake could have gone to Braddock or Robinson same results and you would have saved 500k on your house lolz

People who overuse "lolz" are best avoided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yawn hey guess what if you group the schools by average household income..... you get the exact same list in the exact same order

Our schools are so great..... not

It's not that linear, nor would a correlation detract from the high quality of the best schools.

lol keep telling yourself that guessing you overpaid to be in one of the "top districts" lolz

Look your precious snowflake could have gone to Braddock or Robinson same results and you would have saved 500k on your house lolz

Not the PP, but we live in one of the DCUM top HS boundaries and have a HS senior. If we bought in Braddock or Robinson's boundaries it would have definitely been detrimental tour family- it would have at least doubled our commutes! Plus, we paid <$300k for our house- so how would we have saved $500k? Many people in our neighborhood picked it because of its location and not its schools. Good schools are plentiful in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yawn hey guess what if you group the schools by average household income..... you get the exact same list in the exact same order

Our schools are so great..... not

It's not that linear, nor would a correlation detract from the high quality of the best schools.

lol keep telling yourself that guessing you overpaid to be in one of the "top districts" lolz

Look your precious snowflake could have gone to Braddock or Robinson same results and you would have saved 500k on your house lolz

Not the PP, but we live in one of the DCUM top HS boundaries and have a HS senior. If we bought in Braddock or Robinson's boundaries it would have definitely been detrimental tour family- it would have at least doubled our commutes! Plus, we paid <$300k for our house- so how would we have saved $500k? Many people in our neighborhood picked it because of its location and not its schools. Good schools are plentiful in this area.

I agree. It's really about the commute. If we were going to fort Belvoire or elsewhere we would not have bought close in. I don't think McLean is offering anything West Springfield isn't.

[Anonymous]

South Lakes has better scores than West Springfield now!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In real life, no one games admissions this way, not are similar numbers or percentages admitted to schools like U.Va. from each area school. To the extent there are quotas, they are regional rather than school-based.

The last time Arlington Magazine had a story on college admissions, it showed the number getting into top schools from Wakefield was far below the numbers from Yorktown and W-L.

That's because the best students from the Wakefield attendance area have been transferring into IB at W-L or accepting spots at HB, and more rarely TJHS. But now there are way more kids than spots available so I don't expect this to remain an issue.

Why bring this up now? And repeatedly in multiple threads? Is it because you're afraid of the boundary change headed your way? Your kid will be fine at Wakefield. You child will have no less (and probably no greater a chance) of attending a top university whether they go to Yorktown, W-L, or Wakefield.

The evidence I've seen suggests just the opposite. No one sends their kid to a school where they'll be ignored in favor of the FARMS and ESOL kids hoping that, by standing out, their snowflake will have an easier path to a top school. Usually, it's only when the top kids from schools like Wakefield apply to schools, they start to realize that they have credentials that appear very average to admissions officers.

But, in any event, if you have evidence to the contrary, get Arlington Magazine to do an update for the Class of 2016.

I don't know who you're arguing with. I'm not suggesting that people are sending their kids to Wakefiled to game the system (that is some other poster), nor am I suggesting that it would work. I am suggesting that the demographics of Wakefield are bound to change. Just as the demographics of the feeder ES and MS have. There are not enough seats at other programs (private or within APS) to accommodate the middle and upper middle class kids that are going to be in HS within 10 years. And I can't imagine that all those families will move away either. So, I am bullish on Wakefield. I am not disputing the current demographics, test scores, what have you. They are as they are. But the reason behind them should be understood. It's not the school itself, the administration, or that top students don't have their needs met. It's that so few of this cohort of top students have been enrolled at Wakefield, historically. But the crowding situation has made it so that more and more of the top students are going to be turned away from IB, from HB, from the top privates. And not every parent can afford nor desires to move. I guess we'll see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In real life, no one games admissions this way, not are similar numbers or percentages admitted to schools like U.Va. from each area school. To the extent there are quotas, they are regional rather than school-based.

The last time Arlington Magazine had a story on college admissions, it showed the number getting into top schools from Wakefield was far below the numbers from Yorktown and W-L.

That's because the best students from the Wakefield attendance area have been transferring into IB at W-L or accepting spots at HB, and more rarely TJHS. But now there are way more kids than spots available so I don't expect this to remain an issue.

Why bring this up now? And repeatedly in multiple threads? Is it because you're afraid of the boundary change headed your way? Your kid will be fine at Wakefield. You child will have no less (and probably no greater a chance) of attending a top university whether they go to Yorktown, W-L, or Wakefield.

The evidence I've seen suggests just the opposite. No one sends their kid to a school where they'll be ignored in favor of the FARMS and ESOL kids hoping that, by standing out, their snowflake will have an easier path to a top school. Usually, it's only when the top kids from schools like Wakefield apply to schools, they start to realize that they have credentials that appear very average to admissions officers.

But, in any event, if you have evidence to the contrary, get Arlington Magazine to do an update for the Class of 2016.

I don't know who you're arguing with. I'm not suggesting that people are sending their kids to Wakefiled to game the system (that is some other poster), nor am I suggesting that it would work. I am suggesting that the demographics of Wakefield are bound to change. Just as the demographics of the feeder ES and MS have. There are not enough seats at other programs (private or within APS) to accommodate the middle and upper middle class kids that are going to be in HS within 10 years. And I can't imagine that all those families will move away either. So, I am bullish on Wakefield. I am not disputing the current demographics, test scores, what have you. They are as they are. But the reason behind them should be understood. It's not the school itself, the administration, or that top students don't have their needs met. It's that so few of this cohort of top students have been enrolled at Wakefield, historically. But the crowding situation has made it so that more and more of the top students are going to be turned away from IB, from HB, from the top privates. And not every parent can afford nor desires to move. I guess we'll see.

I agree with this. I'm curious pp, do you feel the same about TC? I'm less familiar with Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In real life, no one games admissions this way, not are similar numbers or percentages admitted to schools like U.Va. from each area school. To the extent there are quotas, they are regional rather than school-based.

The last time Arlington Magazine had a story on college admissions, it showed the number getting into top schools from Wakefield was far below the numbers from Yorktown and W-L.

That's because the best students from the Wakefield attendance area have been transferring into IB at W-L or accepting spots at HB, and more rarely TJHS. But now there are way more kids than spots available so I don't expect this to remain an issue.

Why bring this up now? And repeatedly in multiple threads? Is it because you're afraid of the boundary change headed your way? Your kid will be fine at Wakefield. You child will have no less (and probably no greater a chance) of attending a top university whether they go to Yorktown, W-L, or Wakefield.

The evidence I've seen suggests just the opposite. No one sends their kid to a school where they'll be ignored in favor of the FARMS and ESOL kids hoping that, by standing out, their snowflake will have an easier path to a top school. Usually, it's only when the top kids from schools like Wakefield apply to schools, they start to realize that they have credentials that appear very average to admissions officers.

But, in any event, if you have evidence to the contrary, get Arlington Magazine to do an update for the Class of 2016.

I don't know who you're arguing with. I'm not suggesting that people are sending their kids to Wakefiled to game the system (that is some other poster), nor am I suggesting that it would work. I am suggesting that the demographics of Wakefield are bound to change. Just as the demographics of the feeder ES and MS have. There are not enough seats at other programs (private or within APS) to accommodate the middle and upper middle class kids that are going to be in HS within 10 years. And I can't imagine that all those families will move away either. So, I am bullish on Wakefield. I am not disputing the current demographics, test scores, what have you. They are as they are. But the reason behind them should be understood. It's not the school itself, the administration, or that top students don't have their needs met. It's that so few of this cohort of top students have been enrolled at Wakefield, historically. But the crowding situation has made it so that more and more of the top students are going to be turned away from IB, from HB, from the top privates. And not every parent can afford nor desires to move. I guess we'll see.

I agree with this. I'm curious pp, do you feel the same about TC? I'm less familiar with Alexandria.

I don't know enough about Alexandria to say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In real life, no one games admissions this way, not are similar numbers or percentages admitted to schools like U.Va. from each area school. To the extent there are quotas, they are regional rather than school-based.

The last time Arlington Magazine had a story on college admissions, it showed the number getting into top schools from Wakefield was far below the numbers from Yorktown and W-L.

That's because the best students from the Wakefield attendance area have been transferring into IB at W-L or accepting spots at HB, and more rarely TJHS. But now there are way more kids than spots available so I don't expect this to remain an issue.

Why bring this up now? And repeatedly in multiple threads? Is it because you're afraid of the boundary change headed your way? Your kid will be fine at Wakefield. You child will have no less (and probably no greater a chance) of attending a top university whether they go to Yorktown, W-L, or Wakefield.

The evidence I've seen suggests just the opposite. No one sends their kid to a school where they'll be ignored in favor of the FARMS and ESOL kids hoping that, by standing out, their snowflake will have an easier path to a top school. Usually, it's only when the top kids from schools like Wakefield apply to schools, they start to realize that they have credentials that appear very average to admissions officers.

But, in any event, if you have evidence to the contrary, get Arlington Magazine to do an update for the Class of 2016.

I don't know who you're arguing with. I'm not suggesting that people are sending their kids to Wakefiled to game the system (that is some other poster), nor am I suggesting that it would work. I am suggesting that the demographics of Wakefield are bound to change. Just as the demographics of the feeder ES and MS have. There are not enough seats at other programs (private or within APS) to accommodate the middle and upper middle class kids that are going to be in HS within 10 years. And I can't imagine that all those families will move away either. So, I am bullish on Wakefield. I am not disputing the current demographics, test scores, what have you. They are as they are. But the reason behind them should be understood. It's not the school itself, the administration, or that top students don't have their needs met. It's that so few of this cohort of top students have been enrolled at Wakefield, historically. But the crowding situation has made it so that more and more of the top students are going to be turned away from IB, from HB, from the top privates. And not every parent can afford nor desires to move. I guess we'll see.

People have been making similar arguments for years and yet the scores are still horrible. Of course when they are this bad there is a good chance they might improve but most people with a choice will still avoid it and seek out better schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In real life, no one games admissions this way, not are similar numbers or percentages admitted to schools like U.Va. from each area school. To the extent there are quotas, they are regional rather than school-based.

The last time Arlington Magazine had a story on college admissions, it showed the number getting into top schools from Wakefield was far below the numbers from Yorktown and W-L.

That's because the best students from the Wakefield attendance area have been transferring into IB at W-L or accepting spots at HB, and more rarely TJHS. But now there are way more kids than spots available so I don't expect this to remain an issue.

Why bring this up now? And repeatedly in multiple threads? Is it because you're afraid of the boundary change headed your way? Your kid will be fine at Wakefield. You child will have no less (and probably no greater a chance) of attending a top university whether they go to Yorktown, W-L, or Wakefield.

The evidence I've seen suggests just the opposite. No one sends their kid to a school where they'll be ignored in favor of the FARMS and ESOL kids hoping that, by standing out, their snowflake will have an easier path to a top school. Usually, it's only when the top kids from schools like Wakefield apply to schools, they start to realize that they have credentials that appear very average to admissions officers.

But, in any event, if you have evidence to the contrary, get Arlington Magazine to do an update for the Class of 2016.

I don't know who you're arguing with. I'm not suggesting that people are sending their kids to Wakefiled to game the system (that is some other poster), nor am I suggesting that it would work. I am suggesting that the demographics of Wakefield are bound to change. Just as the demographics of the feeder ES and MS have. There are not enough seats at other programs (private or within APS) to accommodate the middle and upper middle class kids that are going to be in HS within 10 years. And I can't imagine that all those families will move away either. So, I am bullish on Wakefield. I am not disputing the current demographics, test scores, what have you. They are as they are. But the reason behind them should be understood. It's not the school itself, the administration, or that top students don't have their needs met. It's that so few of this cohort of top students have been enrolled at Wakefield, historically. But the crowding situation has made it so that more and more of the top students are going to be turned away from IB, from HB, from the top privates. And not every parent can afford nor desires to move. I guess we'll see.

I agree with this. I'm curious pp, do you feel the same about TC? I'm less familiar with Alexandria.

I don't know enough about Alexandria to say.

Wow! Congrats, PP! You've just distinguished yourself from 99.9% of the posters who opine on ACPS, yet have no experience with the schools.

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing op is worried about the redistricting happening in Arlington.
I don't find the scores very concerning. I've met plenty of south Arlington families who have sent their children to Wakefield. They were accepted into top schools, so there is a clear path of differentiation. There are a large number of immigrant children, and they don't test well. I've been around the school at dismal once or twice (sometimes I swim there). The kids seem nice, and reasonably well behaved. Certainly no one is planning their day to avoid Wakefield's dismissal, unlike sought after Wilson.
I can't argue that the scores aren't good, and have traditionally been low, but the neighborhoods surrounding it are getting younger and wealthier. I think arguing that they've always been bad ignores some pretty obvious market and cultural trends. South Arlington provides the best commute for many families, and traffic gets worse every year.
I remember when Washington- Lee wasn't considered very good. Populations shift, and boundaries change. Don't get too worked up over a possible shift to Wakefield OP. Your child will receive the education they want. They will have the same courses and great teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing op is worried about the redistricting happening in Arlington.
I don't find the scores very concerning. I've met plenty of south Arlington families who have sent their children to Wakefield. They were accepted into top schools, so there is a clear path of differentiation. There are a large number of immigrant children, and they don't test well. I've been around the school at dismal once or twice (sometimes I swim there). The kids seem nice, and reasonably well behaved. Certainly no one is planning their day to avoid Wakefield's dismissal, unlike sought after Wilson.
I can't argue that the scores aren't good, and have traditionally been low, but the neighborhoods surrounding it are getting younger and wealthier. I think arguing that they've always been bad ignores some pretty obvious market and cultural trends. South Arlington provides the best commute for many families, and traffic gets worse every year.
I remember when Washington- Lee wasn't considered very good. Populations shift, and boundaries change. Don't get too worked up over a possible shift to Wakefield OP. Your child will receive the education they want. They will have the same courses and great teachers.

30 out of 31 in NoVa is terrible. It would be even worse if Loudoun schools were included.

[Anonymous]

I think we all should wait and see what the scores are for each sub-group.

How is it fair to compare a school where the total SAT population is 70% upper income white, 20% upper income asian and 10% black/hispanic (incomes??) to a school where the SAT-taking population is 50% black and hispanic (or more) and 50% (or less) middle income white?

It is not a secret that across the state and across the nation, black and hispanic kids don't score as highly on SAT tests. It is also not a secret that as income rises (even for kids with HHI above 100k) scores rise in direct relation to the HHI. I've seen graphs on this on line. I was surprised there was any effect over a certain income (say 100K). But there is an increasing linear relationship.

So, when people trot out these school-wide averages, I think it is a farce. Since everyone seems to be talking about Wakefield, look at the scores of the white kids at Wakefield... that's meaningful in comparison to other white kids. If the Wakefield ave. SAT scores is comprised of 70% hispanic kids and 30% white kids -- well, gee, surprise, surprise.... it's not going to be anywhere near the average score of Langley where 95% of the test-takers are white/asian kids from households that make 200k or more.

I think we need to be careful about maligning an entire school simply b/c it may have more test-takers who are not high income and who are hispanic or black. You're essentially penalizing schools that encourage their lower students to try the SAT. Some schools have few to none of those students from low-income, non-college-educated parents-households.

[Anonymous]

I hate the use of SAT scores to rank or compare high schools. Most people are doing pricey prep classes these days and it is not a fair reflection of the overall quality of the school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we all should wait and see what the scores are for each sub-group.

How is it fair to compare a school where the total SAT population is 70% upper income white, 20% upper income asian and 10% black/hispanic (incomes??) to a school where the SAT-taking population is 50% black and hispanic (or more) and 50% (or less) middle income white?

It is not a secret that across the state and across the nation, black and hispanic kids don't score as highly on SAT tests. It is also not a secret that as income rises (even for kids with HHI above 100k) scores rise in direct relation to the HHI. I've seen graphs on this on line. I was surprised there was any effect over a certain income (say 100K). But there is an increasing linear relationship.

So, when people trot out these school-wide averages, I think it is a farce. Since everyone seems to be talking about Wakefield, look at the scores of the white kids at Wakefield... that's meaningful in comparison to other white kids. If the Wakefield ave. SAT scores is comprised of 70% hispanic kids and 30% white kids -- well, gee, surprise, surprise.... it's not going to be anywhere near the average score of Langley where 95% of the test-takers are white/asian kids from households that make 200k or more.

I think we need to be careful about maligning an entire school simply b/c it may have more test-takers who are not high income and who are hispanic or black. You're essentially penalizing schools that encourage their lower students to try the SAT. Some schools have few to none of those students from low-income, non-college-educated parents-households.

Actually, APS has the score breakdowns. The white kids at Wakefield didn't do too badly.

http://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/1970/01/SAT-2016-Table-3.pdf