US News Top High School Listings

[Anonymous]

I noticed that the US News 2009 Best High School listings are available. But I can only find the Gold list of the top 100 on line. I'm wondering if anyone knows how to get the Silver and Bronze list (short of finding a paper copy of the magazine issue). http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2008/12/04/best-high-schools-gold-medal-list.html

Also noting the significant difference for local schools in VA and MD between the US News list and the Newsweek list. http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380/?q=2008/rank/1

I'm looking at a neighborhood Bethesda, MD in a district that ranks in Newsweek and not US News (Walter Johnson) and trying to do my best to compare what I'm getting there in terms of schools versus other Bethesda neighborhoods.

TIA

[Anonymous]

Having lived in this area for 35 years (and having gone to one of the area's "best" schools) -- WJ is a good school. And, I think the U.S. News rankings are frankly, more accurate, than Newsweek's. Ask any parent looking at housing in Montgomery County whether they would rather have their kid go to Whitman, or Richard Montgomery (which scored best in Newsweek). I think 9 out of 10 parents would say Whitman, hands down.

We could debate forever whether Whitman really is a "better" school than R.M. -- but if you're going purely by reputation -- there is no contest.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I think your right about that prior poster. I guess that's my concern. Walter Johnson doesn't make the list for US News but Whitman of course does well. I'm wondering if the distinction is significant enough for me to limit my house hunting to Whitman exclusively and not consider Walter Johnson. I have heard a lot of wonderful things about Walter Johnson though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having lived in this area for 35 years (and having gone to one of the area's "best" schools) -- WJ is a good school. And, I think the U.S. News rankings are frankly, more accurate, than Newsweek's. Ask any parent looking at housing in Montgomery County whether they would rather have their kid go to Whitman, or Richard Montgomery (which scored best in Newsweek). I think 9 out of 10 parents would say Whitman, hands down.

We could debate forever whether Whitman really is a "better" school than R.M. -- but if you're going purely by reputation -- there is no contest.

only b/c the parents have the bucks to pay for tutors

[Anonymous]

We chose Richard Montgomery over Whitman without hesitation.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for this. I'd like to hear from folks that chose Walter Johnson over Whitman and learn if they were happy with the decision.

[Anonymous]

As one other data point you might want to look at college placements as reported each year in Bethesda magazine for all these schools. There's no way to verify the accuracy, but my impression has been (surprisingly) that WJ does not seem to do as well as any of the other area high schools (Whitman, BCC, Wooton, etc). The placement stats from Montgomery Blair with its magnet programs were out of sight!I've been surprised because WJ seems to draw from the same demographic and I've always heard great things about it. But the distinction was enough that I no longer pine for houses I can't afford in the WJ school district; I'm in BCC and satisfied to stay there - the placement stats look great even though scores at Whitman and Churchill are certainly higher.

Remember this is just one data point and one person's intrepretation at that - in the long run a smart kid will do well at any school and all these are terrific schools with lovely neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

13:24 here.

I would not sweat that WJ didn't make the top 100 list this year. I know it has in the past, and I think it is well regarded. When you're talking about the tippy-top of Montgomery County Schools... I think WJ is close to #5, and I think its all pretty close. FWIW, I would rank WJ above Richard Montgomery in a heartbeat.

I'm in Fairfax now, but if I were house hunting in Montgomery County, and couldn't afford (or didn't want) to be in the Whitman district, I would absolutely consider WJ. Personally, I'd probably look at it ahead of BCC, although I think the two schools are very comparable.

[Anonymous]

Will you have a high schooler when you move or a younger child? We ended up in the Walter Johnson district and have no concerns about its strengths compared to the other schools, but part of that may be that we have much younger kids (early elementary). Our priority, I guess, came down to having an excellent elementary, with at least very good middle and high schools. With almost a decade to go until high school, we know there can be changes in school conditions but wanted to be sure it was good right now. I don't expect any major shifts--I don't think a very strong school like WJ will fall dramatically, but of course I'd be happy if it stayed the same or improved.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

I had previously seen Bethesda-Chevy Chase as #46 on an older list - I believe it was a US News ranking. Can it be that BCC is no longer in the top 100? Are BCC parents generally happy with the high school?

Also would love input on which are the best elementary schools in Montgomery County.

[Anonymous]

B-CC appears on Jay Matthews' Challenge Index (which is the number of students taking AP and IB exams divided by the number of seniors) but not the US News Index which has a different, more complicated formula for ranking schools.