MD public schools vs DC public schools

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are starting the process of purchasing a home in MD or VA. At the top of our priority list is finding a great public education system for our pre-school aged kids. Originally, looking in Maryland, we found such wide variation of school quality. For example, one of the "best" Montgomery Co. high schools.. fed by what appears to be low-performing grade/middle schools. What is up with that?
I went to high school in Fairfax, VA for a while and did not think we'd go to VA, but in researching school systems, we feel that FCPS just look "generally" better...looks more like we aren't going to be surprised by the quality of the schools if we buy within high school boundary we are looking for.
Does anyone share this view? Is the disparity of wealth, education and class so much more snuggly approximated in MD than in VA? VA has similar demographics, but seems better "blended in"...like it just assimilated better or something.
Or is this just a difference in the way Montgomery and Fairfax Co. test their schools/post findings to their websites.
Thanks so much in advance for any feedback!

[Anonymous]

It's a great question, but I do wonder how many people are capable of answering--I only have experience with Montgomery County and am happy here.

I'm curious what MoCo high school you're referring to with low-performing feeder schools. In our case, we searched for a strong elementary (since that's where our kids are starting) and made sure that the high school is also strong.

(Also, your subject heading mentions DC schools, so it may not draw the people who know Fairfax County in particular.)

[Anonymous]

Woops! Thanks for pointing that out.. when I looked back, my husband asked if I put "DC" schools, and I said, "no" (assuming it was a different post)-- may need to just cut and paste into new thread?
I am going off of the testing information on the MCPS website when I measure student performance. I haven't gone to visit these schools nor have I talked to people whose children attend the schools.
My friend's kids go to Rockville high school and she told me it was one of the best schools in Mont Co (in fact, she told me there was no way I'd find a house in that community that we could afford based on what we said we'd pay.
Anyway-- found a great house that goes to Rockville, but then the elementary school (forget the name right now) just didn't look good on paper (neither did Rockville HS either which is why I am wondering if my friend is wrong or if I am looking at the wrong information to measure a school's success).

Can I ask which elementary school your kids attend? How did you decide which schools to send them to? Based on what?
Thanks for your feedback. I will feel reassured from people telling me that they are happy with their children's education regardless of where we buy! Overall, they are a better measure than state mandated testing!

[Anonymous]

You may want to post your budget and what your housing requirements are so people can speak specifics when responding.

MoCo has some of the best public High Schools in the Country. [based on US News methodology]

http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/maryland/walt_whitman_high
http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/maryland/thomas_s._wootton_high
http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/maryland/winston_churchill_high

Rockville High School is not one that is typically mentioned as one of the top MoCo HS

BCC and Qunice Orchard also get solid marks

[Anonymous]

I would just caution you about using test scores as a proxy for elementary school performance. In my experience they are more a proxy for household income, so the schools that are less economically diverse tend to look better on paper, but they certainly aren't the only schools that do a good job.

[Anonymous]

OP here- thanks for this information!

I reposted this under a new thread since I wrote "DC" for some reason in the subject line.
See Mont Co vs Fairfax Co schools. Thanks.