Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 21:20     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
I'm the PP that asked about expounding upon other schools; I wasnt considering TJ, as thats a very specialized group of students who choose to apply there.

I moreso meant, how would deal/hardy/j-r compare to the Lake Braddocks, Fairfax h.s.'s, Longfellow, West Springfield, Edison, Hayfield's, the more.. average to above average FFX's Schools at a somewhat comparable SES level to the best DC schools

Not so much the Langley's, Madison's, McLean's, Oakton's etc as these schools are their own thing
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 21:17     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could we expand this across Fairfax county? how do Arlington Schools rank compared to whatever would be considered the "best" in FFX?

Essentially, would like to try to figure just how average to bad Deal and Hardy are in comparison to the better and best schools in N.VA?


I am not in Fairfax and can speak more to high schools but Langley and McLean are night and day different experiences from any DC schools. Also experience of living over there is pretty different - it might be what you are looking for, or maybe not.


NP. I would say TJ is the best for gifted kids. Langley best for your above average hard working kid.


TJ is a miserable amount of work, leaving little time for the kinds of activities that help kids develop soft skills (and make them stand out for college if you care about that). Honestly I would do SWW over TJ except for a very small subset of kids who are really only interested in academics and don't care about going to a big name college.


I’m the PP. It is not a lot of work if you have a gifted kid and why I said Langley for an above average kid which are lots in the DMV. This is especially if the kid is interested in STEM.

You cannot be serious comparing TJ to SWW, even Langely to SWW. Both schools head and shoulders so much better in all areas with academics and offerings, EC, sports, facilities, peer group. Seriously.

Please get out of your DC bubble of low expectations and your rose colored glasses. I say this as a DC parent with eyes wide open.


I am in Nova and my kid got into TJ but turned it down. I really think it is only the right place for a small subset of gifted kids - no matter how naturally smart you are, that school is a ton of work and the teachers really seem to pile it on almost out of spite. For example, the Spanish teachers are supposed to be brutal. I think the new principal is trying to make some changes so hopefully it will be better in the next few years. I have heard good things about SWW - but you can't count on your kid getting in. Regardless, it does not make sense to be thinking about TJ when you decide whether to move to Nova, since you do not know if your kid will get in. But the Arlington schools are all solid, which was the original question.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 21:08     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could we expand this across Fairfax county? how do Arlington Schools rank compared to whatever would be considered the "best" in FFX?

Essentially, would like to try to figure just how average to bad Deal and Hardy are in comparison to the better and best schools in N.VA?


I am not in Fairfax and can speak more to high schools but Langley and McLean are night and day different experiences from any DC schools. Also experience of living over there is pretty different - it might be what you are looking for, or maybe not.


NP. I would say TJ is the best for gifted kids. Langley best for your above average hard working kid.


TJ is a miserable amount of work, leaving little time for the kinds of activities that help kids develop soft skills (and make them stand out for college if you care about that). Honestly I would do SWW over TJ except for a very small subset of kids who are really only interested in academics and don't care about going to a big name college.


I’m the PP. It is not a lot of work if you have a gifted kid and why I said Langley for an above average kid which are lots in the DMV. This is especially if the kid is interested in STEM.

You cannot be serious comparing TJ to SWW, even Langely to SWW. Both schools head and shoulders so much better in all areas with academics and offerings, EC, sports, facilities, peer group. Seriously.

Please get out of your DC bubble of low expectations and your rose colored glasses. I say this as a DC parent with eyes wide open.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:51     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could we expand this across Fairfax county? how do Arlington Schools rank compared to whatever would be considered the "best" in FFX?

Essentially, would like to try to figure just how average to bad Deal and Hardy are in comparison to the better and best schools in N.VA?


I am not in Fairfax and can speak more to high schools but Langley and McLean are night and day different experiences from any DC schools. Also experience of living over there is pretty different - it might be what you are looking for, or maybe not.


NP. I would say TJ is the best for gifted kids. Langley best for your above average hard working kid.


TJ is a miserable amount of work, leaving little time for the kinds of activities that help kids develop soft skills (and make them stand out for college if you care about that). Honestly I would do SWW over TJ except for a very small subset of kids who are really only interested in academics and don't care about going to a big name college.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:47     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could we expand this across Fairfax county? how do Arlington Schools rank compared to whatever would be considered the "best" in FFX?

Essentially, would like to try to figure just how average to bad Deal and Hardy are in comparison to the better and best schools in N.VA?


I am not in Fairfax and can speak more to high schools but Langley and McLean are night and day different experiences from any DC schools. Also experience of living over there is pretty different - it might be what you are looking for, or maybe not.


NP. I would say TJ is the best for gifted kids. Langley best for your above average hard working kid.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:41     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Anonymous wrote:Could we expand this across Fairfax county? how do Arlington Schools rank compared to whatever would be considered the "best" in FFX?

Essentially, would like to try to figure just how average to bad Deal and Hardy are in comparison to the better and best schools in N.VA?


I am not in Fairfax and can speak more to high schools but Langley and McLean are night and day different experiences from any DC schools. Also experience of living over there is pretty different - it might be what you are looking for, or maybe not.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:28     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Dcps parent here. Kids are at Deal and JR. Go straight to APS and don’t look back. DCPS standards are laughably poor. Terrible teaching. No books in ELA at Deal. Just run. Also, to add insult to injury, no in state tuition.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:25     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Could we expand this across Fairfax county? how do Arlington Schools rank compared to whatever would be considered the "best" in FFX?

Essentially, would like to try to figure just how average to bad Deal and Hardy are in comparison to the better and best schools in N.VA?
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 20:18     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
I'm the APS PP, my kids are at Wakefield. We could have send them to W&L but preferred Wakefield for a variety of reasons. Our kids are having a great experience. They are taking challenging classes, are learning a lot and enjoy the extracurricular options. If your kids are up for taking a lot of APs, they are in with a strong cohort of kids and teachers tend to be good. I can't speak to Jackson Reed directly but have heard more hit or miss things from friends (for ex - AP classes with no teacher all year).
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 15:05     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Anonymous wrote:Let's be brutally honest here, ok? There are plenty of reasons to prefer living in DC over Arlington, and obviously the best DC public schools are perfectly capable of providing a solid education for a smart and self-motivated kid.

But if you're talking strictly about which public school system is better, without regard to anything else, Arlington is without question better. Much better. Deal and Hardy may be the best in DC, but in Arlington they'd be average. Williamsburg, Swanson and Hamm would all blow them away. And as others have said, the high schools are another level entirely. J-R is the best in DC, but is only on par with Wakefield in Arlington--generally considered the worst in the county.

It's strictly a matter of demographics.

You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.


As someone who had kids in DCPS and APS, and whose spouse has taught in both systems, this is the truth.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 14:09     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Let's be brutally honest here, ok? There are plenty of reasons to prefer living in DC over Arlington, and obviously the best DC public schools are perfectly capable of providing a solid education for a smart and self-motivated kid.

But if you're talking strictly about which public school system is better, without regard to anything else, Arlington is without question better. Much better. Deal and Hardy may be the best in DC, but in Arlington they'd be average. Williamsburg, Swanson and Hamm would all blow them away. And as others have said, the high schools are another level entirely. J-R is the best in DC, but is only on par with Wakefield in Arlington--generally considered the worst in the county.

It's strictly a matter of demographics.

You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 13:42     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Anonymous wrote:we moved from DC while our kids were in elementary school so never directly experienced Deal or Hardy. We certainly know people who were happy with both those schools. One difference (I think) with Arlington middle schools is that it is more common for kids to take Algebra in 7th grade - you might view that as a pro or a con. I was disappointed with how few full books my kids read in middle school, but I think that is a problem in a lot of schools now. I think the bigger difference is in Arlington high schools vs Jackson Reed. APS high schools are not perfect (at all!) but I think they are generally stronger than DCPS. Plus you have the option of in-state tuition at VA universities.

We did not move because of the schools, we moved because our commutes were shorter from Arlington and our new Arlington neighborhood is more convenient/walkable - but that very much depends on where you are looking in Arlington and where you work.

Algebra is offered in 7th at Hardy.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 13:31     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
Anonymous wrote:we moved from DC while our kids were in elementary school so never directly experienced Deal or Hardy. We certainly know people who were happy with both those schools. One difference (I think) with Arlington middle schools is that it is more common for kids to take Algebra in 7th grade - you might view that as a pro or a con. I was disappointed with how few full books my kids read in middle school, but I think that is a problem in a lot of schools now. I think the bigger difference is in Arlington high schools vs Jackson Reed. APS high schools are not perfect (at all!) but I think they are generally stronger than DCPS. Plus you have the option of in-state tuition at VA universities.

We did not move because of the schools, we moved because our commutes were shorter from Arlington and our new Arlington neighborhood is more convenient/walkable - but that very much depends on where you are looking in Arlington and where you work.


+1 middle school is a blip in their school career. HS and college options are much more important.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 13:05     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
we moved from DC while our kids were in elementary school so never directly experienced Deal or Hardy. We certainly know people who were happy with both those schools. One difference (I think) with Arlington middle schools is that it is more common for kids to take Algebra in 7th grade - you might view that as a pro or a con. I was disappointed with how few full books my kids read in middle school, but I think that is a problem in a lot of schools now. I think the bigger difference is in Arlington high schools vs Jackson Reed. APS high schools are not perfect (at all!) but I think they are generally stronger than DCPS. Plus you have the option of in-state tuition at VA universities.

We did not move because of the schools, we moved because our commutes were shorter from Arlington and our new Arlington neighborhood is more convenient/walkable - but that very much depends on where you are looking in Arlington and where you work.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 12:56     Subject: Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools
We are moving soon and are looking for information to compare NW DC middle/high schools
(Deal and Hardy) and Arlington middle/high schools. We prefer DC for every reason except schools. Arlington seems better, but I can't tell if they actually are, or if it varies by student. Our kids are definitely at grade level (or higher) and don't have IEPs. They aren't super sporty or artsy.

If you have experience with both, please share! If you know of people who moved one way or the other for schools specifically, what was their experience? We wouldn't have the option to switch to private school under any circumstance.

We have one kid in elementary too and are happy with both DC and Arlington elementary schools.