Anonymous wrote:Maybe McLean's sign should read: "Best in the county!" I'm sure some would agree so it's not a lie or based on any incorrect data or anything.

correct spray paint that on there

Anonymous wrote:This whole discussion seems so comical to me. We are about to move into the Marshall district and we are excited that our kids will be attending a fairly diverse school. Like previous posters stated, rankings are just rankings.. most fairfax county schools are very good. The school is not going to make or break your child. I went to a ho hum public school and went on to a great college ... husband attended public school in probably the worst public school district in the US and ended up at an Ivy. Motivated kids will do fine. Find the house you love. Btw, we are leaving the McLean district for Marshall... we are sad to leave but decided Marshall for our kids.

+1,000

Maybe McLean's sign should read: "Best in the county!" I'm sure some would agree so it's not a lie or based on any incorrect data or anything.

Anonymous wrote:I laugh when I drive by Marshall HS and see the dumb sign still on Route 7 advertising that it's "#3 in Virginia, #55 Nationally." So cheesy. It seems to be very important to someone there, maybe Jay Pearson or the Marshall PTA, maybe they don't read DCUM so they don't realize ratings are overrated.

I laughed when I saw mclean's ghetto stained wood sign for so many years. Who cares.

i don't understand why a ranking (whether founded on correct or incorrect data) would infuriate so many grown adults. i personally have no problem and didn't look much into the rankings since i know most of the schools around mclean/vienna are good. since most of the posters are from fairfax county, wouldn't you want all the schools to do well?

I laugh when I drive by Marshall HS and see the dumb sign still on Route 7 advertising that it's "#3 in Virginia, #55 Nationally." So cheesy. It seems to be very important to someone there, maybe Jay Pearson or the Marshall PTA, maybe they don't read DCUM so they don't realize ratings are overrated.

Ratings are definitely something to factor in when deciding schools, they just aren't EVERYTHING.

Good luck. In the current school year, about twice as many Marshall students pupil placed to McLean as vice versa, but each school has its strengths IMO.

This whole discussion seems so comical to me. We are about to move into the Marshall district and we are excited that our kids will be attending a fairly diverse school. Like previous posters stated, rankings are just rankings.. most fairfax county schools are very good. The school is not going to make or break your child. I went to a ho hum public school and went on to a great college ... husband attended public school in probably the worst public school district in the US and ended up at an Ivy. Motivated kids will do fine. Find the house you love. Btw, we are leaving the McLean district for Marshall... we are sad to leave but decided Marshall for our kids.

Again, The data US News used was given by FCPS, not Marshall. Those ratings only take into consideration certain information like tests scores and FARMS. They are often inaccurate on class size and a host of other things. I agree that Marshall shouldn't have received such a high mark and pointed that out in the beginning of this post, but to go on to say it's unethical is unfair. Many people were just happy the school was finally recognized a bit for its efforts since IB schools tend to always run lower than AP schools. As said in an original post last year, Obama probably did not deserve the peace prize, but he's not going to retract it and it doesn't make him unethical to advertise he received it. And it's a joke to me to say that Marshall teaches less values than Madison or McLean to those of us who know the self absorbed parents there. Bottom line, you may rightly disagree with the ranking, but it does not make Marshall unethical to display a rating that they did indeed receive. I'm sure it will be off their website anyway come next fall. Those ratings do not include many things which many parents find important. Studies show that kids are tired of the typical seatwork and tests come high school and want something different with more real world experience which is why the Academies are becoming more popular, especially Chantilly's. Those ratings don't take a lot of those things into consideration. We all thought you wanted general information on the school such as the pluses and minuses like most of us are looking for. Sorry to hear all you care about is ratings.

Anonymous wrote:
I am so relieved to hear that! Pimmit Hills is a lovely, multicultural neighborhood with a perfect mix of older, original owners and young families, blue and white collar workers, and new and older homes. Marshall's "academic integrity and the values the school seeks to promote among its students" are outstanding, and my kids thrived there and then went on to great colleges where both recieved academic scholarships as a result of rigorous IB preparation. I love the character of my neighborhood -- and neighbors -- and am happy you pass us over. The longer we fly under the radar, the longer it will take for us to be overrun by snots like you.

Wow. I asked a sincere question because I was confused by the contradiction between information on Marshall's web site and the linked information on USNWR, and then I was bashed, as were the posters who responded directly to my question.

I have nothing against Pimmit Hills. If I did, we would not have entertained the idea of building there. On the other hand, it is clear to me now that Marshall HS is willing to take credit for a rating it did not deserve and that quite a few Marshall parents think that is entirely acceptable.

I will not send my children to a school where the message from the administration and community is that it is OK to take credit for something you did not earn. If that makes me a snob, snot or troll, I'm fine with that. We cannot afford a $1 million house, but we do have other options, and we will explore them.

Anonymous wrote:Not the PP who said she was a snot. OP started this thread apparently interested in Marshall High and Pimmit Hills and then when she realized as she had already stated that Marshall was not rated in the top 3 schools in Fairfax County this year, she went on to say Marshall was promoting poor values and having little academic integrity with little first hand knowledge of US News ratings, Marshall, or any other Fairfax high school. She went beyond just being "uncertain" about Marshall High by making those statements. Maybe she wasn't snotty toward Pimmit Hills which is a neighborhood that splits between Marshall and McLean and is a small part of the entire Marshall boundary. She was snotty though toward Marshall High and if she knows so little, why be so aggressive? Couldn't she just say thanks but we're looking for a higher rated school and leave it at that?

All of Pimmit Hills goes to Marshall, unless they pupil place to McLean for AP. Pimmit Hills kids attend several elementary schools that kids zoned for McLean also attend (Westgate, Lemon Road, Haycock), but those kids don't live in Pimmit Hills. Of course, many end up good friends, which is more than can be said for some of you.

FYI OPs post smells of the McLean troll

Anonymous wrote:This year Madison is ranked higher than McLean or Oakton. Typically it's been below these schools and is known for having a not so great principal. I don't hear Madison clamoring to say that their ranking is too high. Fairfax, Chantilly, and Robinson are also rated higher than I've seen them in the past. If I were doing rankings, I'd rate Marshall around the same level as Robinson and Lake Braddock. It could just be that the vocational classes they offer bring their average down. There are houses in the district that cost upwards of $2 million. Unless you have a child at the school and know about other schools, I don't know how you'd be so certain that one was definitely higher than the other. People did call out the potentially faulty rating of Marshall last year at the beginning of this post.

I don't think you can rate Marshall the same as Robinson and Lake Bradock when the test scores show otherwise

Great schools has marshall scored at a 9 and Robinson / Lake Bradock at 8s.

This also seems to cut the BS on how FARMS cause lower test scores when Marshall has more FARMS then Robinson and Lake bradock but score better on SOLs.

Great schools is a better indicator which bases scores purely on testing rather than magical IB / AP points and random so called expert analysis etc...

http://www.greatschools.org/virginia/falls-church/543-Marshall-High-School/
http://www.greatschools.org/virginia/fairfax/564-Robinson-Secondary/
http://www.greatschools.org/virginia/burke/528-Lake-Braddock-Secondary/

Anonymous wrote:Not the PP who said she was a snot. OP started this thread apparently interested in Marshall High and Pimmit Hills and then when she realized as she had already stated that Marshall was not rated in the top 3 schools in Fairfax County this year, she went on to say Marshall was promoting poor values and having little academic integrity with little first hand knowledge of US News ratings, Marshall, or any other Fairfax high school. She went beyond just being "uncertain" about Marshall High by making those statements. Maybe she wasn't snotty toward Pimmit Hills which is a neighborhood that splits between Marshall and McLean and is a small part of the entire Marshall boundary. She was snotty though toward Marshall High and if she knows so little, why be so aggressive? Couldn't she just say thanks but we're looking for a higher rated school and leave it at that?

Hence the accusations that the entire thread was just for sport.