Whats the best public high school in Virginia?

[Anonymous]

BESIDES T.J., which I'm not so sure DC will get into though he's very bright. I can't bank on his admission to T.J. so I need a backup school. We would move to get into that district, whereever it is!!

[Anonymous]

In Fairfax County: McLean, Langley, Madison, Woodson
OR in Arlington County: Yorktown
OR George Mason in Falls Church City

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Fairfax County: McLean, Langley, Madison, Woodson
OR in Arlington County: Yorktown
OR George Mason in Falls Church City

Since the OP is willing to move the safest school is mclean. It borders Arlington and falls Church City and is smaller. The others have some weird boundaries so if politics are removed or power shifts you could find your new house at a different school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Fairfax County: McLean, Langley, Madison, Woodson
OR in Arlington County: Yorktown
OR George Mason in Falls Church City

I wouldn't include Madison on that list.

[Anonymous]

Why not? Those are the top 4 high schools in Ffx County.

[Anonymous]

I think Washington-Lee in Arlington is also very strong.

[Anonymous]

Every eligbile FCPS high school (meaning TJ was excluded) was "listed in the top 5% of publics schools in the nation, based on the annual challenge index - which measures a schools effort to challenge all students".[See Fairfax County Public Schools handbook 2009-2010].

When you think of it that way, does it really matter what high school your child goes to? You could send DC to Mt. Vernon or Edison and they would still be challenged while getting a good education, especially if parents are setting high expectations for their kids. As with most everything in life, they'll get out of it what they put into it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not? Those are the top 4 high schools in Ffx County.

According to who? FCPS does not rank its schools.

[Anonymous]

Washington-Lee has IB program, Yorktown does not, if that means anything to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Fairfax County: McLean, Langley, Madison, Woodson
OR in Arlington County: Yorktown
OR George Mason in Falls Church City

I wouldn't include Madison on that list.

Agreed. Top three in Fairfax besides TJ are McLean, Langley and Woodson. I'd give the nod to McLean, particularly if you want to be close to DC and want a bit of diversity in your child's school. Langley caters to an exclusively upper-income crowd, and Madison is very sports-oriented. If that type of school interests you, Oakton is probably better than Madison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every eligbile FCPS high school (meaning TJ was excluded) was "listed in the top 5% of publics schools in the nation, based on the annual challenge index - which measures a schools effort to challenge all students".[See Fairfax County Public Schools handbook 2009-2010].

When you think of it that way, does it really matter what high school your child goes to? You could send DC to Mt. Vernon or Edison and they would still be challenged while getting a good education, especially if parents are setting high expectations for their kids. As with most everything in life, they'll get out of it what they put into it.

The "Challenge Index" is not very meaningful. It doesn't measure how well students perform on the AP/IB exams, only how many of these exams were administered to students at a school.

Do you have personal experience with Mt. Vernon or Edison? The principal at Mt. Vernon seems very dynamic, but SAT scores keep sliding and are well below national averages. A lot of parents posted to Fort Belvoir move to Springfield or Fairfax so their kids can attend West Springfield, Lake Braddock or Robinson rather than Mt. Vernon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Fairfax County: McLean, Langley, Madison, Woodson
OR in Arlington County: Yorktown
OR George Mason in Falls Church City

I wouldn't include Madison on that list.

Agreed. Top three in Fairfax besides TJ are McLean, Langley and Woodson. I'd give the nod to McLean, particularly if you want to be close to DC and want a bit of diversity in your child's school. Langley caters to an exclusively upper-income crowd, and Madison is very sports-oriented. If that type of school interests you, Oakton is probably better than Madison.

I think McLean is a fine school, but I favor Woodson. They seem to have a very average demographic, but impressive merits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every eligbile FCPS high school (meaning TJ was excluded) was "listed in the top 5% of publics schools in the nation, based on the annual challenge index - which measures a schools effort to challenge all students".[See Fairfax County Public Schools handbook 2009-2010].

When you think of it that way, does it really matter what high school your child goes to? You could send DC to Mt. Vernon or Edison and they would still be challenged while getting a good education, especially if parents are setting high expectations for their kids. As with most everything in life, they'll get out of it what they put into it.

The "Challenge Index" is not very meaningful. It doesn't measure how well students perform on the AP/IB exams, only how many of these exams were administered to students at a school.

Do you have personal experience with Mt. Vernon or Edison? The principal at Mt. Vernon seems very dynamic, but SAT scores keep sliding and are well below national averages. A lot of parents posted to Fort Belvoir move to Springfield or Fairfax so their kids can attend West Springfield, Lake Braddock or Robinson rather than Mt. Vernon.

This is so true and I wish people would stop judging "the best" public schools based on this index. Like the pp said, it does not take into account how many students actually get passing scores on the AP/IB test - just the number of students in the school who are taking them. I think you also need to take into account whether you want AP/IB, the size of the school, and the elective offerings at the school (some schools have Academies). I think it is really ignorant to say a school is "the best" just based on that challenge index.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every eligbile FCPS high school (meaning TJ was excluded) was "listed in the top 5% of publics schools in the nation, based on the annual challenge index - which measures a schools effort to challenge all students".[See Fairfax County Public Schools handbook 2009-2010].

When you think of it that way, does it really matter what high school your child goes to? You could send DC to Mt. Vernon or Edison and they would still be challenged while getting a good education, especially if parents are setting high expectations for their kids. As with most everything in life, they'll get out of it what they put into it.

The "Challenge Index" is not very meaningful. It doesn't measure how well students perform on the AP/IB exams, only how many of these exams were administered to students at a school.

Do you have personal experience with Mt. Vernon or Edison? The principal at Mt. Vernon seems very dynamic, but SAT scores keep sliding and are well below national averages. A lot of parents posted to Fort Belvoir move to Springfield or Fairfax so their kids can attend West Springfield, Lake Braddock or Robinson rather than Mt. Vernon.

I have experience with Edison and am very happy with it. I know I'm in the minority here but I think the emphasis on test scores is overrated in our area. Educational opportunities abound in every school in Fairfax County and every student can be challenged. Focusing on test scores doesn't provide a complete picture of what kind of learners the school produces. I'm happy to keep my kid in a challenging school that's diverse racially and economically. He'll have life opportunitites in that school that some of the schools mentioned aren't likely to provide and that we value as much as the curricula. At our socioeconomical level and with our educational background, our kids will be very successful academically and in life. With all that we have to worry about, I'm glad test scores and schools don't take up any of our energy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every eligbile FCPS high school (meaning TJ was excluded) was "listed in the top 5% of publics schools in the nation, based on the annual challenge index - which measures a schools effort to challenge all students".[See Fairfax County Public Schools handbook 2009-2010].

When you think of it that way, does it really matter what high school your child goes to? You could send DC to Mt. Vernon or Edison and they would still be challenged while getting a good education, especially if parents are setting high expectations for their kids. As with most everything in life, they'll get out of it what they put into it.

The "Challenge Index" is not very meaningful. It doesn't measure how well students perform on the AP/IB exams, only how many of these exams were administered to students at a school.

Do you have personal experience with Mt. Vernon or Edison? The principal at Mt. Vernon seems very dynamic, but SAT scores keep sliding and are well below national averages. A lot of parents posted to Fort Belvoir move to Springfield or Fairfax so their kids can attend West Springfield, Lake Braddock or Robinson rather than Mt. Vernon.

This is so true and I wish people would stop judging "the best" public schools based on this index. Like the pp said, it does not take into account how many students actually get passing scores on the AP/IB test - just the number of students in the school who are taking them. I think you also need to take into account whether you want AP/IB, the size of the school, and the elective offerings at the school (some schools have Academies). I think it is really ignorant to say a school is "the best" just based on that challenge index.

I completely agree! I wish the Post would ditch Jay Matthews. I do not find his column to provide useful information/