Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing is --- the curriculum at all the FCPS schools is the same. Some people pay more in housing so their kids can have richer/whiter friends. Whatever.

The student body is also important not just the teaching curriculum.

Definitely. I don't want those brown and black colored hoodlums screwing up my kids' education. When is the next klan meeting? I've got to pick up my sheet from the dry cleaners.

Anonymous wrote:The thing is --- the curriculum at all the FCPS schools is the same. Some people pay more in housing so their kids can have richer/whiter friends. Whatever.

The student body is also important not just the teaching curriculum.

TC Williams - not even ranked. But neither is Wakefield. I feel slightly better for living in Alexandria City.

The thing is --- the curriculum at all the FCPS schools is the same. Some people pay more in housing so their kids can have richer/whiter friends. Whatever.

You can read this description for further information. As discussed above, I suspect that a school like Lake Braddock (which overall is a high performing school) got kicked out under "Step 2" in the US News methodology.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/2014/04/21/how-us-news-calculated-the-2014-best-high-schools-rankings

Anonymous wrote:
Does anyone know why Lake Braddock is listed as "unranked"? Did they take themselves out of the ranking survey?

Schools cannot take themselves out of the ranking survey. They may be listed as "unranked" under the US News methodology if students in a particular sub-group (minorities, low-income, etc.) under-perform compared to a benchmark for that particular sub-group on the math or reading SOLs. In addition, the current ratings are based on the tests administered back in the 2011-12 school year, so there's a lag.

The point is that US News only wants to reward schools that appear to serve their historically disadvantaged students well, in addition to having a large percentage of students who take and pass AP/IB exams. But, if a school's minority or low-income students don't test as well as the benchmark in a particular year, the entire school gets kicked out of the rankings process. So US News may rank Annandale and Falls Church HS as among the top HS in the state this year, while schools like Lake Braddock in Fairfax or Stone Bridge in Loudoun go unranked. It could be entirely different next year.

Does anyone know why Lake Braddock is listed as "unranked"? Did they take themselves out of the ranking survey?

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a public school ranking (not privates).

oh. i see.

I think this is a public school ranking (not privates).

Anonymous wrote:Nothing in DC in the top 100 (nationally). Only a couple VA schools and W (MoCo) schools. $100K+ well spent on DC privates lol.

oops - and Poolesville (MoCo)

Nothing in DC in the top 100 (nationally). Only a couple VA schools and W (MoCo) schools. $100K+ well spent on DC privates lol.

George Mason is in Falls Church City, not Fairfax

Anonymous wrote:Ah yes, the only schools worth attending in FFX County. Avoid the others like the plague.

Or, I should have said Northern Virginia, since they're not all in FFX County.

Ah yes, the only schools worth attending in FFX County. Avoid the others like the plague.

What is interesting is that most of the Top school zones are located next to each other. I believe this mirrors the housing values due to location and incomes.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
George Mason High School
James Madison High School
Langley High School
Oakton High School
McLean High School
W.T. Woodson High School
Yorktown High School
West Springfield High School
George C. Marshall High School

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings?int=c0b4c1