New VA school rating system in 2025-2026 SY

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just amazing to me how far FCPS has fallen since the mid-90s. It would have been unheard of before then to have any schools in those lower two categories.

Massive illegal immigration and far-left Democrats on the SB are all responsible for this decline and it’s shameful.

Fairfax County was smaller than, teachers were better, admins were better, there were less standards, etc....

Or FCPS stopped the spin machine and it has always been bad.

No, it actually was an excellent school district. The spin is what we see today, when FCPS pretends to still be excellent and “world class,” as they like to say.

It had fewer poor and ELL kids. Those kids drag down school ratings and that's reflected in FCPS today. The schools that don't have those kids are still ranked as some of the best schools in the state

+1. Pretty much this people. A school district reflects its population. I agree this is probably just an in for the introduction of school vouchers which will further drag down public education. I do disagree with some of FCPS’s policies like not holding kids accountable for their behaviors and grading policies. This will only put more pressure on school districts to teach to standardized tests.

My friends in more voucher friendly states really appreciated the economic diversity it brought to their private schools. As someone who was educated with a hodge-podge of everything but charter schools, I don't understand why vouchers are such a bad thing. Letting poorer people have the same privilege to pick their schools as the wealthy - the HORRORS. Unless you're FEA, why be threatened?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids missed more than 10 days this year. Our ES kept begging me to bring my kids in on a teacher workday for what they called a two hour reading and math "workshop". I asked if my kids were behind? No. I asked for details on what the workshop would cover? It was told it would be "independent learning".

Then my teacher friend told me this was a way for schools to cook the books on attendance numbers.

Also good for your kids, where being in school is good for learning and for valuing education. Whether they were sick or on vacation, missing over 10 days of school is very hard for kids, although you don't seem to realize it.

My oldest missed 15 days of school two years ago from covid, flu, and covid again (has never regained his sense of taste). And that school year, academically, was a struggle for him.

Kids are all different. One of mine struggled HORRIBLY when FCPS failed to live up to their promise to let kids go two days a week.

The other decided it was going to be regular school or nothing and chose the 100% online option and did well.

That one came to the conclusion that in-person was not required to excel and when FCPS went back to a traditional schedule skipped whenever and continued to excel.

FCPS dragged their feet on reopening long after it was shown to be safe. Those who run the system can’t now turn around and pretend to care about education and the wellbeing of children.

🙄

Yes, the pandemic was a once-a-generation disaster that will affect us, adults and children, for a long time, possibly for the rest of our lives. It has left its mark on my family and on yours.

It wasn’t the pandemic, it was how the local government reacted.

Had we lived in some counties in VA (going 2-3 days in person and fully reopening earlier than FCPS) or Florida, Texas etc. it wouldn’t have been an issue.

Those kids aren't the same either. Do you have family or friends in those states?

One of my kids basically missed 2nd grade entirely. But I'm not bashing FCPS because of the pandemic. You're doing your kids no favors.

DP - I have friends and family in those states. Pandemic was a 6 week break with family for them and back to school. Those kids are the same.

+1. Studies show the kids in Nordic countries who never stopped going to school did the best. Are we supposed to the listen to The Science or aren't we?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck trying to get families whose kids miss a lot of school to send theirkids to school. I have no idea what enforcement mechanism that State thinks exists to try and get parents to make their kids attend school or stay at school if they go. It sounds like a ridiculous measure since it is not one that any School or County is in a position to enforce.

Emails and phone calls have not done the trick. I doubt that we are going to see kids brought to school by Police or parents arrested for not sending kids to school. So does the VDOE have some suggestions on how to enforce attendance?

Technically they have always been able to call CPS on you. Maybe this will start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck trying to get families whose kids miss a lot of school to send theirkids to school. I have no idea what enforcement mechanism that State thinks exists to try and get parents to make their kids attend school or stay at school if they go. It sounds like a ridiculous measure since it is not one that any School or County is in a position to enforce.

Emails and phone calls have not done the trick. I doubt that we are going to see kids brought to school by Police or parents arrested for not sending kids to school. So does the VDOE have some suggestions on how to enforce attendance?

We have 15 kids in our neighborhood who went through middle school pandemic "school"

The kids got As for doing nothing and simply logging in most of the time.

Those kids were feral when they started back to real school in 9th grade.

A couple, the ones who transfered to private school for 2020-21, and the ones with hyper parent enrichment, or kids with a personality well suited to distance learning seemed to fare ok.

Around half of them started to dial into school, kinda sorta, towards the end of sophomore year. Many had huge gaps in math, science and writing compared to where high school students should be. Many are addicted to social media.

Probably a quarter of them learned the lesson that school is an after thought and attendance really doesn't matter. The unlimited retake policy and lax standards kept in place through the end of last year didn't help them recover from lost schooling. For them, it just reinforced the idea that school is not important. Social media addiction made things 1000x worse for them.

Several of them are still struggling with attendance and school. Their parents are trying everything, and are besides themselves with frustration, anger, sadness and hopelessness

I am fortunate that my kid falls into that second group, thanks in large part to the year in private school and some amazing and dedicated high school teachers that enforced normal grading standards in spite of FCPS lax requirements.

I do not fault those parents from the last group. Their kids are still a mess from pandemic, in spite of their parents trying to move heaven and earth to keep them on track.

Some of those kids know there is a problem, but trying to fix it as a junior or senior brings a whole new type of hopelessness for the teen that just perpetuates the bad behavior

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good luck trying to get families whose kids miss a lot of school to send theirkids to school. I have no idea what enforcement mechanism that State thinks exists to try and get parents to make their kids attend school or stay at school if they go. It sounds like a ridiculous measure since it is not one that any School or County is in a position to enforce.

Emails and phone calls have not done the trick. I doubt that we are going to see kids brought to school by Police or parents arrested for not sending kids to school. So does the VDOE have some suggestions on how to enforce attendance?

Emails and phone calls haven't worked. So I guess that's it, kids just won't go to school. /s

What a strange viewpoint you have.

What else can the schools do? they can email, call, and send letters. They cannot go to the house and make the parents send the kid to school. They cannot track down kids who are not at home or at school. What exactly do you think that the School can do to make the kid attend?

Call CPS? CPS is overwhelmed and cannot deal with the cases of that they have, to include cases of neglect and abuse, never mind adding in following families of truant kids.

Arrest the parents and charge them with a crime? Families face fines or jail time for not sending their ids to school or kids choosing to skip school? That is going to work really well for lower SES families where the kids are not going to school so they can work or are skipping school because the parent/parents are working multiple jobs and are not able to enforce attendance.

What do you do with the families that are pulling kids out of school to go on vacations during the year? I know people who get letters every year because they choose to take a cruise after Spring Break due to lower prices and pull their kids out of school for 5 days. I know people who pull their kids out to go to Disney for a week in the off season. The letters home and the emails have not stopped them from their annual trip. How are you going to enforce it with those families.

The families that are posting asking what happens when they take their kids out of school for a month to visit families overseas? People are fine with their kids being dropped from the school rolls because they know that they can re-enroll their kids when they come home. Maybe you can effect that by telling parents that if their kids are removed from the school rolls then the kid can not return to AP/IB classes and has to take Gen Ed classes. I suspect that will lead to law suits though.

The State is tying accreditation to something that they cannot enforce and School Districts cannot enforce. It is as ridiculous as expecting students with serious LDs and EDs or who are ELL to be able to score on grade level with State Wide exams. All it is going to do is point to schools that have issues that are directly tied to income, which we already know. It accomplishes nothing and offers no way to address the known issues.

The obvious answer would be to restart the policy where 5 unexcused absences per quarter means you fail the class. Three unexcused tardies used to equal one unexcused absence. Schools used to do this and it worked. The tradeoff is that a lot more kids will fail and it will predominately be kids who are already deemed "at risk". At some point schools decided it was better to have a bunch of kids chronically absent and graduating with basically a courtesy diploma and no actual knowledge than not graduating at all.

It's not hard to turn an unexcused absence into an excused absence. My kids will be getting covid for our family vacation in november

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just amazing to me how far FCPS has fallen since the mid-90s. It would have been unheard of before then to have any schools in those lower two categories.

Massive illegal immigration and far-left Democrats on the SB are all responsible for this decline and it’s shameful.

Fairfax County was smaller than, teachers were better, admins were better, there were less standards, etc....

Or FCPS stopped the spin machine and it has always been bad.

No, it actually was an excellent school district. The spin is what we see today, when FCPS pretends to still be excellent and “world class,” as they like to say.

It had fewer poor and ELL kids. Those kids drag down school ratings and that's reflected in FCPS today. The schools that don't have those kids are still ranked as some of the best schools in the state

+1. Pretty much this people. A school district reflects its population. I agree this is probably just an in for the introduction of school vouchers which will further drag down public education. I do disagree with some of FCPS’s policies like not holding kids accountable for their behaviors and grading policies. This will only put more pressure on school districts to teach to standardized tests.

My friends in more voucher friendly states really appreciated the economic diversity it brought to their private schools. As someone who was educated with a hodge-podge of everything but charter schools, I don't understand why vouchers are such a bad thing. Letting poorer people have the same privilege to pick their schools as the wealthy - the HORRORS. Unless you're FEA, why be threatened?

Maybe if principals were faced with an exodus of their better students, they would do something about the kids at the root of the problem. A fraction of the students are driving away teachers and making class miserable for other students, but the admin pretends there is nothing they can do. If their funding started getting slashed as student numbers plummeted, maybe they would find a solution

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s just amazing to me how far FCPS has fallen since the mid-90s. It would have been unheard of before then to have any schools in those lower two categories.

Massive illegal immigration and far-left Democrats on the SB are all responsible for this decline and it’s shameful.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just amazing to me how far FCPS has fallen since the mid-90s. It would have been unheard of before then to have any schools in those lower two categories.

Massive illegal immigration and far-left Democrats on the SB are all responsible for this decline and it’s shameful.

Fairfax County was smaller than, teachers were better, admins were better, there were less standards, etc....

Or FCPS stopped the spin machine and it has always been bad.

No, it actually was an excellent school district. The spin is what we see today, when FCPS pretends to still be excellent and “world class,” as they like to say.

It had fewer poor and ELL kids. Those kids drag down school ratings and that's reflected in FCPS today. The schools that don't have those kids are still ranked as some of the best schools in the state

+1. Pretty much this people. A school district reflects its population. I agree this is probably just an in for the introduction of school vouchers which will further drag down public education. I do disagree with some of FCPS’s policies like not holding kids accountable for their behaviors and grading policies. This will only put more pressure on school districts to teach to standardized tests.

My friends in more voucher friendly states really appreciated the economic diversity it brought to their private schools. As someone who was educated with a hodge-podge of everything but charter schools, I don't understand why vouchers are such a bad thing. Letting poorer people have the same privilege to pick their schools as the wealthy - the HORRORS. Unless you're FEA, why be threatened?

Maybe if principals were faced with an exodus of their better students, they would do something about the kids at the root of the problem. A fraction of the students are driving away teachers and making class miserable for other students, but the admin pretends there is nothing they can do. If their funding started getting slashed as student numbers plummeted, maybe they would find a solution

I am from Baltimore.

The scenario you describe has already happened to Baltimore schools. The “solution” as you put it was: a huge number of private schools at all price levels, combined with some of the worst performing, yet most costly public schools in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just amazing to me how far FCPS has fallen since the mid-90s. It would have been unheard of before then to have any schools in those lower two categories.

Massive illegal immigration and far-left Democrats on the SB are all responsible for this decline and it’s shameful.

Fairfax County was smaller than, teachers were better, admins were better, there were less standards, etc....

Or FCPS stopped the spin machine and it has always been bad.

No, it actually was an excellent school district. The spin is what we see today, when FCPS pretends to still be excellent and “world class,” as they like to say.

It had fewer poor and ELL kids. Those kids drag down school ratings and that's reflected in FCPS today. The schools that don't have those kids are still ranked as some of the best schools in the state

+1. Pretty much this people. A school district reflects its population. I agree this is probably just an in for the introduction of school vouchers which will further drag down public education. I do disagree with some of FCPS’s policies like not holding kids accountable for their behaviors and grading policies. This will only put more pressure on school districts to teach to standardized tests.

My friends in more voucher friendly states really appreciated the economic diversity it brought to their private schools. As someone who was educated with a hodge-podge of everything but charter schools, I don't understand why vouchers are such a bad thing. Letting poorer people have the same privilege to pick their schools as the wealthy - the HORRORS. Unless you're FEA, why be threatened?

Maybe if principals were faced with an exodus of their better students, they would do something about the kids at the root of the problem. A fraction of the students are driving away teachers and making class miserable for other students, but the admin pretends there is nothing they can do. If their funding started getting slashed as student numbers plummeted, maybe they would find a solution

I am from Baltimore.

The scenario you describe has already happened to Baltimore schools. The “solution” as you put it was: a huge number of private schools at all price levels, combined with some of the worst performing, yet most costly public schools in the country.

I'm fine with that outcome. I think most schools would be untouched by vouchers, but students at schools that struggle would have a way out. I would also support school choice for students at failing schools. Right now, FCPS has some of the best and some of the worst schools in the state and no one seems to care about the students stuck in the latter

[Anonymous]

The good students get good grades, and the bad students get bad grades. Parents are really the only people that can lift up the bad students/grades.

Remove the good students and the average changes, but the bad students still get bad grades. Add more good students and the average changes, but the bad students still get bad grades.

The only thing that is changing is the numbers of good and bad students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The good students get good grades, and the bad students get bad grades. Parents are really the only people that can lift up the bad students/grades.

Remove the good students and the average changes, but the bad students still get bad grades. Add more good students and the average changes, but the bad students still get bad grades.

The only thing that is changing is the numbers of good and bad students.

if the ratio of bad to good gets too high, classroom management gets impossible. There are schools in the county well past that tipping point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good students get good grades, and the bad students get bad grades. Parents are really the only people that can lift up the bad students/grades.

Remove the good students and the average changes, but the bad students still get bad grades. Add more good students and the average changes, but the bad students still get bad grades.

The only thing that is changing is the numbers of good and bad students.

if the ratio of bad to good gets too high, classroom management gets impossible. There are schools in the county well past that tipping point

The county is just about at the tipping point as a whole. It won’t matter how you mix and match the students populations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just amazing to me how far FCPS has fallen since the mid-90s. It would have been unheard of before then to have any schools in those lower two categories.

Massive illegal immigration and far-left Democrats on the SB are all responsible for this decline and it’s shameful.

Fairfax County was smaller than, teachers were better, admins were better, there were less standards, etc....

Or FCPS stopped the spin machine and it has always been bad.

No, it actually was an excellent school district. The spin is what we see today, when FCPS pretends to still be excellent and “world class,” as they like to say.

It had fewer poor and ELL kids. Those kids drag down school ratings and that's reflected in FCPS today. The schools that don't have those kids are still ranked as some of the best schools in the state

+1. Pretty much this people. A school district reflects its population. I agree this is probably just an in for the introduction of school vouchers which will further drag down public education. I do disagree with some of FCPS’s policies like not holding kids accountable for their behaviors and grading policies. This will only put more pressure on school districts to teach to standardized tests.

My friends in more voucher friendly states really appreciated the economic diversity it brought to their private schools. As someone who was educated with a hodge-podge of everything but charter schools, I don't understand why vouchers are such a bad thing. Letting poorer people have the same privilege to pick their schools as the wealthy - the HORRORS. Unless you're FEA, why be threatened?

Maybe if principals were faced with an exodus of their better students, they would do something about the kids at the root of the problem. A fraction of the students are driving away teachers and making class miserable for other students, but the admin pretends there is nothing they can do. If their funding started getting slashed as student numbers plummeted, maybe they would find a solution

I am from Baltimore.

The scenario you describe has already happened to Baltimore schools. The “solution” as you put it was: a huge number of private schools at all price levels, combined with some of the worst performing, yet most costly public schools in the country.

I'm fine with that outcome. I think most schools would be untouched by vouchers, but students at schools that struggle would have a way out. I would also support school choice for students at failing schools. Right now, FCPS has some of the best and some of the worst schools in the state and no one seems to care about the students stuck in the latter

I'm the PP quoted who initially came out in support of vouchers. The one thing Baltimore PP made me wonder is if - like with all free money - certain private schools would simply raise their costs to account for vouchers, continuing to put private out of reach (or at least high quality privates out of reach). Not sure how you'd account for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just amazing to me how far FCPS has fallen since the mid-90s. It would have been unheard of before then to have any schools in those lower two categories.

Massive illegal immigration and far-left Democrats on the SB are all responsible for this decline and it’s shameful.

Fairfax County was smaller than, teachers were better, admins were better, there were less standards, etc....

Or FCPS stopped the spin machine and it has always been bad.

This is why people should buy the house and neighborhood they love-FCPS is FCPS everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good students get good grades, and the bad students get bad grades. Parents are really the only people that can lift up the bad students/grades.

Remove the good students and the average changes, but the bad students still get bad grades. Add more good students and the average changes, but the bad students still get bad grades.

The only thing that is changing is the numbers of good and bad students.

if the ratio of bad to good gets too high, classroom management gets impossible. There are schools in the county well past that tipping point

The county is just about at the tipping point as a whole. It won’t matter how you mix and match the students populations.

Well, that's an American cultural fail then, isn't it? Perhaps as a society we should decide parents need to parent such that kids can function in a classroom. If you don't, then it's 1950s or earlier style shaming for you.