Reply to Is Western high school going to be sought after?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The ideal FCPS from a personal perspective for most parents is one that offers a wide range of AP classes, but has average test scores.  That way Larlo or Larla can take 10+ AP courses boast their GPA and whose 1450+ SAT stands well above the average.  [/quote]

To be fair, a 1450 on the SAT is well above the average, it is the 97th percentile. The 90th percentile tends to fall between 1350-1370. Average test scores across the country are close to 1040 (google search, that seems low to me), the average test score in Virginia was 1101 (google search, again that seems low). Fairfax County average score was 1183.  All of those seem low to me, really low.

Parents in FCPS who are focused on colleges, want their kids at a school where they have challenging classes. They want a peer group that helps their kid stay focused. Pretty much every HS in FCPS provides challenging courses, the difference is in the sie of the cohort focused on college and then the size of the cohort focused on top schools. I am not listing every HS in the county because I don’t know them all or their reputations. TJ, Langley, McLean, Oakton have reputations for a cohort focused on the top 25 schools. The SAT scores are really high, hence the 1450 comment above, and kids take a ton of AP classes. Chantilly, Centerville, Westfield, Marshall, Madison and South Lakes tend to be more balanced with kids interested focused on college but not necessarily thinking top 25. Some kids will be on that path, others are less focused on the prestige schools and attending a good college. I know kids from those schools who ended up at top 20 schools and I know kids at Shenandoah type schools, a good school but not flashy. Herndon, Mount Vernon, Justice, Lewis tend to have more kids who will not attend college. The kids who do go to college get into the same range of schools as the more mid range schools but there are fewer of them. Some would tell you that the higher achieving kids at these schools stand a better chance at top schools because they stand out more. [/quote]

Oh, yes.  Our goal should be to have all our kids go to "top twenty" schools.
What makes them "better?"
Did you read the article/editorial in WAPO about some of these schools and how many "disabled" kids get accommodations in their "elite" colleges?
Do you really think your child will get a better education there?

FWIW, DH went to one of them.[/quote]

I didn’t say that. The question was about why parents target different schools. My answer was meant to dive into why some parents target schools like Langley and other parents do not. Parents who sacrifice to buy or rent a place in Langley, McLean, or Oakton boundaries tend to be parents who want a large cohort of driven kids who are targeting top tier colleges. I did not say it makes them better.

My kid will be going to Western. He hasn’t picked out colleges he wants to go to yet but we will support him with whatever choices he makes.  [/quote]How about we not mention Langley, McLean, and Oakton, but focus on the overall subject matter.[/quote]

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