Where to live for best public schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean, Vienna, Falls Church City.

McLean is crazy expensive.
Vienna is a mixed bag, as is Falls Church depending on the cluster.

OP, inventory is low right now. Give it two weeks, there should be a little surge and then nothing until February or so.

There is only one “cluster” in FCC.

What is that supposed to mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean, Vienna, Falls Church City.

McLean is crazy expensive.
Vienna is a mixed bag, as is Falls Church depending on the cluster.

OP, inventory is low right now. Give it two weeks, there should be a little surge and then nothing until February or so.

There is only one “cluster” in FCC.

What is that supposed to mean?

Just what it says. All FCC students are assigned to the same schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean, Vienna, Falls Church City.

McLean is crazy expensive.
Vienna is a mixed bag, as is Falls Church depending on the cluster.

OP, inventory is low right now. Give it two weeks, there should be a little surge and then nothing until February or so.

There is only one “cluster” in FCC.

PP referred to FC not FCC. Big difference, and yes, parts of FC are actually zoned to McLean HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean, Vienna, Falls Church City.

McLean is crazy expensive.
Vienna is a mixed bag, as is Falls Church depending on the cluster.

OP, inventory is low right now. Give it two weeks, there should be a little surge and then nothing until February or so.

There is only one “cluster” in FCC.

PP referred to FC not FCC. Big difference, and yes, parts of FC are actually zoned to McLean HS

Thanks! That makes more sense.

[Anonymous]

How is Vienna a mixed bag?

[Anonymous]

Great schools is a really flawed, fairly meaningless measure:

1) The scores are based on comparison in immediate area. So don't compare MOCO with FCPS via this route. So the best test-scoring school in a low-scoring district can get a 10, whereas a slightly lower test scoring school in a high scoring district can get a 4. Even if the school that got a 4 has higher scores than the school that got a 10.


2) For VA, it is based on pass rates of SOL scores which are a crude measure. Most middle class/UMC families care more about nuanced aspects of schools above that--even percentage of pass-advanced would be more telling.

3) Great schools has been revised so that disparities between low and high performing subgroups lower the score. The hard part is that in a school system where a good portion of the lowest scorers have English as a second language, you are just going to expect a disparity until their familiarity with the language grows. So if you have a high performing school, but a segment of low performing recent immigrant 3rd grade students, you are going to get a low score. You'd get a higher score if the higher performers were more mediocre so there was less of a disparity.

No person with a reasonable way of thinking about schools would focus on Great Schools. It's a fake realtor tool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great schools is a really flawed, fairly meaningless measure:

1) The scores are based on comparison in immediate area. So don't compare MOCO with FCPS via this route. So the best test-scoring school in a low-scoring district can get a 10, whereas a slightly lower test scoring school in a high scoring district can get a 4. Even if the school that got a 4 has higher scores than the school that got a 10.


2) For VA, it is based on pass rates of SOL scores which are a crude measure. Most middle class/UMC families care more about nuanced aspects of schools above that--even percentage of pass-advanced would be more telling.

3) Great schools has been revised so that disparities between low and high performing subgroups lower the score. The hard part is that in a school system where a good portion of the lowest scorers have English as a second language, you are just going to expect a disparity until their familiarity with the language grows. So if you have a high performing school, but a segment of low performing recent immigrant 3rd grade students, you are going to get a low score. You'd get a higher score if the higher performers were more mediocre so there was less of a disparity.

No person with a reasonable way of thinking about schools would focus on Great Schools. It's a fake realtor tool.

Sound advice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Finland.

I too believed the hype prior to moving to Finland, but I have sadly realized that it’s all a myth.

[Anonymous]

Churchill is probably the best in the DC metro area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great schools is a really flawed, fairly meaningless measure:

1) The scores are based on comparison in immediate area. So don't compare MOCO with FCPS via this route. So the best test-scoring school in a low-scoring district can get a 10, whereas a slightly lower test scoring school in a high scoring district can get a 4. Even if the school that got a 4 has higher scores than the school that got a 10.


2) For VA, it is based on pass rates of SOL scores which are a crude measure. Most middle class/UMC families care more about nuanced aspects of schools above that--even percentage of pass-advanced would be more telling.

3) Great schools has been revised so that disparities between low and high performing subgroups lower the score. The hard part is that in a school system where a good portion of the lowest scorers have English as a second language, you are just going to expect a disparity until their familiarity with the language grows. So if you have a high performing school, but a segment of low performing recent immigrant 3rd grade students, you are going to get a low score. You'd get a higher score if the higher performers were more mediocre so there was less of a disparity.

No person with a reasonable way of thinking about schools would focus on Great Schools. It's a fake realtor tool.

Sound advice

Sounds like gs is a good measure of quality

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Churchill is probably the best in the DC metro area.

It is in terms of academics but they have their own problems with drugs and bullying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Churchill is probably the best in the DC metro area.

It is in terms of academics but they have their own problems with drugs and bullying.

Are you referring to the elementary or high school?

[Anonymous]

The schools with v best scores are not necessarily the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Churchill is probably the best in the DC metro area.

It is in terms of academics but they have their own problems with drugs and bullying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finland.

I too believed the hype prior to moving to Finland, but I have sadly realized that it’s all a myth.

Please give us some details. This is interesting.