Re: Best High Schools in Northern Virginia?
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Definitive Answer, Take Two
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Date: July 18, 2014 02:15PM
Revised Pecking Order in FCPS:
Tier 1: TJHSST. In a class by itself academically, but a magnet for resentment as well due to the fact that it's increasingly difficult to get into if you are not an Asian student who attended one of a small number of middle schools (Carson, Longfellow, Rocky Run, Kilmer, Frost, Jackson and Lake Braddock) with big programs for gifted students. A bonanza to test prep centers across NoVa.
Tier 2: Langley. The wealthiest and highest-achieving of the neighborhoods schools in FCPS, with far lower percentages of low-income students than any other school. Its Achilles heel, to the extent it has one, is its reputation for social exclusivity and academic competition. Ex-Langley parents whose children have not had a good experience there tend to be very vituperative and highly outspoken; Langley-bashing by those who get freaked out by its Aryan repuation (notwithstanding the large number of Asian and Middle-Eastern students) is also common.
Tier 3: McLean, Madison, Woodson, Oakton. Considered the top neighborhood schools in FCPS after Langley. People will also pay extra to live in these districts, and real estate brokers will mention homes in these districts by name in their listings. But, along with Langley, also most likely to be called "pressure cookers," experience demoralizing student suicides, and generate business for local psychiatrists.
Tier 4: Marshall. A Tier-3 aspirant, but not quite there yet. Bucking the demographic trend in FCPS by gaining white students every year. Ryan McElveen's alma mater and pet school. Just lost the long-time principal who helped raise the school's profile.
Tier 5: West Springfield, Lake Braddock, Robinson, Chantilly, Westfield. Very good schools that are popular with military families, tech workers and those who like to call themselves "down-to-earth," but also don't want to send their kids to schools with too many ESOL/FARMS kids. Among the largest schools in terms of total enrollment.
Tier 6: Herndon, South Lakes, Fairfax, South County, Centreville. Similar to Tier 5, but touted less frequently on message boards and with somewhat higher percentages of low-income students.
Tier 7: West Potomac. Pulls from both very wealthy neighborhoods in Alexandria east of Route 1 and poorer areas like Hybla Valley. Created years ago by merging Fort Hunt and Groveton, which would be like deciding to merge Madison and Falls Church today. Similar in some respects to TC Williams in the City of Alexandria, but with a larger number of middle and upper-middle income students.
Tier 8: Annandale, Falls Church, Stuart, Lee, Edison, Hayfield, Mount Vernon. Majority-minority, low-income schools that have the lowest test scores. Includes several schools with IB programs that probably aren't worth the expense. Tend to be the schools that are openly mocked on message boards by those who wake up every morning wishing they were in Texas armed and personally patrolling the border. Even so, still probably better than most public schools in the country.
Loudoun schools have less variation and less drama. They are generally similar to the Tier 5 and 6 schools in FCPS, but smaller and, in a good year, better at football. Because most of the housing in Loudoun is newer, the county doesn't have as many aging, low-income apartment complexes as Fairfax. Only Park View in Sterling is similar to a Tier 8 school in FCPS.
In Arlington, Yorktown is equivalent to a Tier 3 school in Fairfax and Wakefield is equivalent to a Tier 8 school. W-L doesn't have a clear analog, as the demographics and test scores are similar to a Tier 6 school but the touting by people who've bought homes in Arlington that feed into W-L is similar to what you find at a Tier 2-5 school in Fairfax.