WE are at Beall Elementary. It is a fantastic school. Yes overcrowded, but still fantastic. The teachers, the administration and the Principal all really care. The community is diverse both racially and economically but they are also VERY involved. It is warm and welcoming. I can't speak to JW or RM yet. However, the word on JW from those at BEall who have older kids is that they have been pleased. Again it is large and overcrowded but if you can get past that piece of it, folks have been very pleased and feel that a quality education is given and expectations are high of the students. In this cluster if you don't want the racial and economic diversity this it isn't for you.

There has been much high end development in that area in recent years. Parc Potomac, Kings Farm, Falls Grove.

Well, whatever one may think of standardized testing and/or greatschools ratings as a tool for choosing a school, I personally find it refreshing that a diverse (in many ways) school like JW can pull out a 9...it bucks the trend.

Anonymous wrote:Greatschools ratings, pfft.

This.

PP can you explain why JW is not a "9"? Are you a JW parent?

Julius West is no where near a 9.

Still, for what it's worth, test scores are improving?

Don't put much stock in great schools. Schools at a glance is more useful. Even better, ask current parents and visit the school.

I agree that greatschool ratings don't tell the whole story (or even majority of the story), but they do have some influence over things like real estate prices, so still worthwhile to consider.

Greatschools ratings, pfft.

College Gardens is a 8 and I would not be surprised if it was soon a 9 or 10. Fantastic school.

OP here...I know that Twinbrook (in RM cluster) has a rating of 2, which to me makes it even more remarkable that JW is a 9. In fact, none of the elementary schools (while most are pretty good) in RM are a 9, so I find it interesting that JW scores so well.

^referring to RM cluster

The elementary schools are very strong in the cluster. Perhaps that's a positive influence on the whole.

I noticed that the greatschools rating for Julius West MS recently went from an 8 to a 9. Magruder is also now a 7, whereas I believe it was previously a 6. Do you think that Rockville schools (despite overcrowding) are potentially on an upswing? Also, I've seen several threads that knock RM HS, saying its 8 rating is skewed because of the IB magnet students from other clusters. But considering that Julius West MS (which is not a magnet and is the only middle school in the RM cluster) gets a 9 on greatschools, wouldn't that suggest that the RM cluster overall is pretty strong?