Anonymous wrote:TJ, Langley, McLean, Woodson, Oakton and Madison are six of the top seven high schools in Virginia.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia

Marshall is second-tier.

Maybe in perception but if you used previous years US news it was in the top 10

Anonymous wrote:After TJ, Langley, McLean, Madison, Woodson and Oakton have been considered the top high schools in the county for the last 15-20 years, if not longer.

Marshall wants to join the "club" in the worst way. It's obvious from the many "look at me" threads.

Some others don't think they belong. That's equally obvious from some of the responses.

At the end of the day, I'd bet the Marshall people like the attention, good or bad. There are other great schools like Chantilly, West Springfield, Lake Braddock, Robinson, and Fairfax, and you don't see people there playing these silly games.

As a Marshall parent, I'd just as soon Marshall's improvements over the years remained a secret. Keeps people who care about things like school ranking away.

After TJ, Langley, McLean, Madison, Woodson and Oakton have been considered the top high schools in the county for the last 15-20 years, if not longer.

Marshall wants to join the "club" in the worst way. It's obvious from the many "look at me" threads.

Some others don't think they belong. That's equally obvious from some of the responses.

At the end of the day, I'd bet the Marshall people like the attention, good or bad. There are other great schools like Chantilly, West Springfield, Lake Braddock, Robinson, and Fairfax, and you don't see people there playing these silly games.

Marshall is an IB school.

I have a rather different impression from the SOL thread. My sense is that it's Marshall families who are quite insecure. Rather than simply celebrate successes at their school when they occur, they start new threads every time Marshall does something "better" than another school. I've not seen parents at other schools do that. Given a choice among Langley, McLean, Madison, Woodson, Oakton and Marshall, Marshall would easily be my last choice.

Anonymous wrote:Comparing these schools is splitting hairs - seriously, except for the relative snobbery. They are all fantastic.

Go visit Springbrook in my old hometown in SS, and then come talk to me about how bad Marshall is, or any of the other schools mentioned by OP. Better yet, go visit any public DC school.

So true. I honestly do not get the hate against Marshall. As you say, if these other schools are so good why do people care if Marshall is getting better. Also if your kids are graduating, how does the graduation rate at a high school effect you? Kind of like average SATs. Who cares if your children are doing well and being challenged. My suspicion is that people who get all hot and bothered about their school being better are really just insecure about their own children's academic achievement.

Anyone who is familiar with Marshall would realize that it's actually a pretty nice community. Perhaps there's something to be said for a school with 20% FARMS and a student body that isn't convinced they're all that.

Comparing these schools is splitting hairs - seriously, except for the relative snobbery. They are all fantastic.

Go visit Springbrook in my old hometown in SS, and then come talk to me about how bad Marshall is, or any of the other schools mentioned by OP. Better yet, go visit any public DC school.

Since Marshall is so "inferior," it seems that, in theory, it would be easier for top students from Marshall to get into the better colleges. They will have more ability to stand out.

The reality is that for the top performing students with supportive families and other advantages, there will not be a significant difference between Marshall and one of the other area schools (AP and IB differences aside and I could understand someone strongly preferring one over the other and I don't want to open that can of worms).

They are all good schools and threads like these just end up in petty sniping.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Compared to the other schools they are seeing a spike in the FARMS/ESOL enrollment due to the unaccompanied minors arriving from Central America, so I'm not surprised they have a lower graduation rate. It's still a good school, particularly if you want IB, even if it is not as "sought after" as the others like Langley, Woodson, etc.

Speculation or do you actually know if this is true? I've heard that this has had an effect on Herndon.

The FARMS rate was up 1.81% at Marshall last year over the prior year, to over 20%, and the Hispanic enrollment increased by 60 students to 17.3% of the total enrollment, up from 14.7% in the fall of 2013. Draw your own conclusions. Herndon was not the only school impacted.

TJ, Langley, McLean, Woodson, Oakton and Madison did not see increases on the same magnitude as Marshall. The Hispanic enrollment was down at TJ and flat at Langley, while the percentage of FARMS students actually declined last year at TJ, McLean and Oakton. Again, this puts in perspective why you might expect to see a lower graduation rate at Marshall compared to the other schools.

Anonymous wrote:Compared to the other schools they are seeing a spike in the FARMS/ESOL enrollment due to the unaccompanied minors arriving from Central America, so I'm not surprised they have a lower graduation rate. It's still a good school, particularly if you want IB, even if it is not as "sought after" as the others like Langley, Woodson, etc.

Speculation or do you actually know if this is true? I've heard that this has had an effect on Herndon.

Anonymous wrote:I think Marshall is in a different demographic situation which affects test scores and graduation rates. If you don't mind that, it is a fine school with a good IB program.

The FARMS percentage was back over 20% again last year. Kind of surprising as the Marshall neighborhoods were supposed to be gentrifying. Maybe not? http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/nutrition/statistics/free_reduced_eligibility/2014-2015/schools/frpe_sch_report_sy2014-15.pdf

I think Marshall is in a different demographic situation which affects test scores and graduation rates. If you don't mind that, it is a fine school with a good IB program.

To be fair, Marshall is ranked 15 out of 285 Virginia high schools, so not all that shabby. And I certainly wouldn't consider that "second-tier."

And I don't have a kid at Marshall, nor do I live anywhere close to Marshall.

What I don't get is why, if the other schools are so great, the parents from those schools even give the Marshall posters a second thought. Who cares if they boost their school if you are happy with yours?

I live out of state, so I'm not in the Marshall pyramid in case you thought I was a Marshall booster.

TJ, Langley, McLean, Woodson, Oakton and Madison are six of the top seven high schools in Virginia.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia

Marshall is second-tier.