Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 17:44     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And people say Chantilly is "bad" or "mediocre."


Who says that? Probably only some Oakton parents wanting to stay put.

Chantilly has made its way into the top 5 of non-TJ schools. It now has the role that Woodson used to have - a top school academically but more affordable than the other pyramids in the top 5.


Even those parents who want to stay at Oakton think Chantilly is a good school. Also, Woodson is still a top 5 school…


So we get to simply make things up now? Numbers are numbers and ranks are ranks. Can't just say Woodson is top 5 because you feel like they deserve to be when the data shows differently.


I think the FCPS list is missing a lot of kids. None from South County or South Lakes? All of Woodson's have last names beginning with A or B? I bet the list will be updated.


Can confirm. My daughter is commended from Woodson, last name second half of the alphabet and she's missing. I'm sure lots more there with her. We've got a lot of Nguyens at Woodson and I'd be shocked if not one was commended.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 17:30     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And people say Chantilly is "bad" or "mediocre."


Who says that? Probably only some Oakton parents wanting to stay put.

Chantilly has made its way into the top 5 of non-TJ schools. It now has the role that Woodson used to have - a top school academically but more affordable than the other pyramids in the top 5.


Even those parents who want to stay at Oakton think Chantilly is a good school. Also, Woodson is still a top 5 school…


So we get to simply make things up now? Numbers are numbers and ranks are ranks. Can't just say Woodson is top 5 because you feel like they deserve to be when the data shows differently.


I think the FCPS list is missing a lot of kids. None from South County or South Lakes? All of Woodson's have last names beginning with A or B? I bet the list will be updated.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 17:21     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Lewis has two National Merit Commended Scholars. They were recognized by the school, and the whole Lewis community knows who they are. Yet they aren't named here.

Another example of the school board screwing Lewis over, I presume? Because if there's ever good news coming from Lewis, you can guarantee the school board will do everything to hide it.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 16:12     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:Are these current seniors or 11th graders? If seniors, does this mean the students did not have this commendation when they applied to colleges?


Current Seniors, and they knew back before apps were due. My kid is one of these on the list and did not take any prep course for PSAT. Their SAT was very good but not amazing (1420); self-study for that but no formal prep.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 16:03     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And people say Chantilly is "bad" or "mediocre."


Who says that? Probably only some Oakton parents wanting to stay put.

Chantilly has made its way into the top 5 of non-TJ schools. It now has the role that Woodson used to have - a top school academically but more affordable than the other pyramids in the top 5.


Even those parents who want to stay at Oakton think Chantilly is a good school. Also, Woodson is still a top 5 school…


So we get to simply make things up now? Numbers are numbers and ranks are ranks. Can't just say Woodson is top 5 because you feel like they deserve to be when the data shows differently.


What are you going on about? Woodson is #2 in the county (minus TJ) this year per US News and World Report, the same source FCPS uses and when people are house hunting. It’s great you use your own independent analysis but most don’t. By the way this is separate than a conversation about how great Chantilly is and it is a great school.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:47     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:FCPS has posted about the 770 students named National Merit Commended Students. They've started publicizing this more since the incident where school administrators at TJ and Langley weren't bothering to tell students they were commended students. https://www.fcps.edu/news/770-fcps-students-named-national-merit-commended-scholars

South County is quite low-performing relative to the cost of houses in the neighborhoods that feed into the school.
TJHSST 196 (113 NSMF) - 59.7%
McLean 83 (20 NMSF) - 16.5%
Langley 82 (23 NMSF) - 19.7%
Chantilly 65 (17 NMSF) - 9.9%
Oakton 61 (25 NMSF) - 12.2%
Madison 47 (8 NMSF) - 11.0%
Lake Braddock 37 (5 NMSF) - 5.3%
Centreville 30 (7 NMSF) - 6.0%
Marshall 29 (15 NMSF) - 7.7%
Robinson 29 (0 NMSF) - 4.1%
West Springfield 27 (2 NMSF) - 4.0%
Westfield 21 (6 NMSF) - 3.9%
Fairfax 14 (5 NMSF) - 3.2%
Edison 12 (2 NMSF) - 2.5%
Falls Church 12 (1 NMSF) - 2.7%
Hayfield 7 (0 NMSF) - 1.3%
Woodson 7 (8 NMSF) - 2.4%
Herndon 5 (2 NMSF) - 1.4%
Annandale 3 (0 NMSF) - 0.6%
Justice 2 (1 NMSF) - 0.5%
West Potomac 1 (1 NMSF) - 0.3%
Lewis 0 (0 NMSF) - 0%
Mount Vernon 0 (0 NMSF) - 0%
South County 0 (0 NMSF) - 0%
South Lakes 0 (1 NMSF) - 0.2%


Annotated to add # of NMFSs and % of senior class either National Merit Semifinalist or Commended Student.


I am very surprised about SoCo, particularly commended.

Were they pethaps left off the list accidentally? They usually have a few each year
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:44     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is purely based on PSAT scores being in the top 1% of the state (semifinalist) or top 2-3% (commended).

i.e. this is a metric for who can afford SAT tutoring.


My child missed nmsf by one point and had zero tutoring nor was any tutoring something we could budget for. But thanks for your assumptions


My own child was a national merit semi finalist 2 years ago. No tutoring. On an individual level, it's a fantastic achievement to celebrate with the child. But PP is right in that it is silly to use as a way to gauge school quality. He likely would have scored that no matter where he went to high school.


Disagree strongly. Some schools environments are conducive to achievement and others far less so. The kids earning these accolades have typically benefited from being in strong pyramids for years.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:41     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And people say Chantilly is "bad" or "mediocre."


Who says that? Probably only some Oakton parents wanting to stay put.

Chantilly has made its way into the top 5 of non-TJ schools. It now has the role that Woodson used to have - a top school academically but more affordable than the other pyramids in the top 5.


Even those parents who want to stay at Oakton think Chantilly is a good school. Also, Woodson is still a top 5 school…


So we get to simply make things up now? Numbers are numbers and ranks are ranks. Can't just say Woodson is top 5 because you feel like they deserve to be when the data shows differently.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:40     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is purely based on PSAT scores being in the top 1% of the state (semifinalist) or top 2-3% (commended).

i.e. this is a metric for who can afford SAT tutoring.


My child missed nmsf by one point and had zero tutoring nor was any tutoring something we could budget for. But thanks for your assumptions


My own child was a national merit semi finalist 2 years ago. No tutoring. On an individual level, it's a fantastic achievement to celebrate with the child. But PP is right in that it is silly to use as a way to gauge school quality. He likely would have scored that no matter where he went to high school.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:31     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is purely based on PSAT scores being in the top 1% of the state (semifinalist) or top 2-3% (commended).

i.e. this is a metric for who can afford SAT tutoring.


It is more then just who can afford SAT tutoring but also what schools have parents and/or students that are really invested in academic success. SLHS has 0 commended and one semi-finalist. There are parents who have enough money to pay for SAT tutoring but the culture at the school is not one where the kids feel competitive or pushed. The IB schools combined barely equal Oakton.

I don’t know if the kids who are more academically driven are pupil placing to other schools or what but the overall showing at the IB schools is not great.


Other than Robinson, IB is a complete failure in FCPS

I can't believe our school board is preparing to spend millions on an IB contract renewal.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:30     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:This is purely based on PSAT scores being in the top 1% of the state (semifinalist) or top 2-3% (commended).

i.e. this is a metric for who can afford SAT tutoring.


No. Not at all.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:29     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:FCPS has posted about the 770 students named National Merit Commended Students. They've started publicizing this more since the incident where school administrators at TJ and Langley weren't bothering to tell students they were commended students. https://www.fcps.edu/news/770-fcps-students-named-national-merit-commended-scholars

TJHSST 196 (113 NSMF) - 59.7%
McLean 83 (20 NMSF) - 16.5%
Langley 82 (23 NMSF) - 19.7%
Chantilly 65 (17 NMSF) - 9.9%
Oakton 61 (25 NMSF) - 12.2%
Madison 47 (8 NMSF) - 11.0%
Lake Braddock 37 (5 NMSF) - 5.3%
Centreville 30 (7 NMSF) - 6.0%
Marshall 29 (15 NMSF) - 7.7%
Robinson 29 (0 NMSF) - 4.1%
West Springfield 27 (2 NMSF) - 4.0%
Westfield 21 (6 NMSF) - 3.9%
Fairfax 14 (5 NMSF) - 3.2%
Edison 12 (2 NMSF) - 2.5%
Falls Church 12 (1 NMSF) - 2.7%
Hayfield 7 (0 NMSF) - 1.3%
Woodson 7 (8 NMSF) - 2.4%
Herndon 5 (2 NMSF) - 1.4%
Annandale 3 (0 NMSF) - 0.6%
Justice 2 (1 NMSF) - 0.5%
West Potomac 1 (1 NMSF) - 0.3%
Lewis 0 (0 NMSF) - 0%
Mount Vernon 0 (0 NMSF) - 0%
South County 0 (0 NMSF) - 0%
South Lakes 0 (1 NMSF) - 0.2%


Annotated to add # of NMFSs and % of senior class either National Merit Semifinalist or Commended Student.


I am very surprised about SoCo, particularly commended.

Were they pethaps left off the list accidentally? They usually have a few each year
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:15     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:Y’all are just obsessed. It’s pathetic.


Or maybe you’re just easily triggered. Facts are facts.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:02     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Y’all are just obsessed. It’s pathetic.
Anonymous
Post 01/19/2026 15:00     Subject: FCPS National Merit Commended Students by High School

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And people say Chantilly is "bad" or "mediocre."


Who says that? Probably only some Oakton parents wanting to stay put.

Chantilly has made its way into the top 5 of non-TJ schools. It now has the role that Woodson used to have - a top school academically but more affordable than the other pyramids in the top 5.


People on a different thread I think talking about that home addition.