Thanks for the stats- which top school seems to be lacking and which top school still superb?

thx Wrote:
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> Thanks for the stats- which top school seems to be
> lacking and which top school still superb?

TJ is in a class by itself and I assume you are excluding it from your question.

Excluding TJ, over the past decade the "top schools" in the county, as measured by the performance of their students on SATs, have been Langley, McLean, Woodson, Oakton, Madison, and Lake Braddock.

The test scores of both the "top schools" and county high schools generally were down in 2007 relative to prior years. In announcing the results, FCPS didn't mention this; instead, it focused on four IB schools whose scores had improved over last year.

Of the schools in the "top group," Langley continues to outperform the others, while Madison and Oakton have slipped considerably in recent years.

Of the 25 high schools in the county, the SAT scores of all but five are above the national average. The one horror story is Hayfield, where the average SAT score, after the recent RD of many of its students to South County, is now below 1000.

The test scores seem to be bearing out my initial hunch, namely that folks getting RD'd to Marshall will not cause nearly as much of a ruckus as Madison/Oakton folks getting RD'd to South Lakes.

I suspect the ESOL and FRM issues would be more of an issue at the elementary school level. My wife went to one high-ESOL school for K-2, transferred to a low-ESOL school for 3rd grade, and she was about a year behind in some subjects, two years behind in others. Now, the administration/teachers at her K-2 school may have just blew chunks. But I'll admit that was one factor we looked at when looking for a place to live (Vienna-Thoreau-Madison, if you want to know.)

On the other hand, so much can change between now and then. Madison may well end up having the stigma of South Lakes by 2025 and Stuart, Annandale, and Falls Church may improve in an era of $7 gas due to their proximity to DC.

For what I read and hear- Madison and Oakton are getting sketchy reviews from parents- mostly that if you're a jock or high achiever- you're taken care of- otherwise, thrown to the side. I still don't know which one I have but either way- isn't there enough pressure already nowadays on kids? I'm just not sure what HS to send my kid to (in 10 years) that will be safe and good..

MR Wrote:
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> For what I read and hear- Madison and Oakton are
> getting sketchy reviews from parents- mostly that
> if you're a jock or high achiever- you're taken
> care of- otherwise, thrown to the side. I still
> don't know which one I have but either way- isn't
> there enough pressure already nowadays on kids?
> I'm just not sure what HS to send my kid to (in 10
> years) that will be safe and good..

MR - So many things can change in 10 years - why not focus on a good elementary school for now and an area that is convenient to work, doctors, shopping, etc.?

If you and your spouse both work in Fairfax, I would recommend neighborhoods near WT Woodson. It has a long history as a strong school, a renovation is about to be completed this year, it is not a mega-school on the scale of Robinson or Westfield, and the current boundaries (with the possible exception of an attendance island that is within the Robinson zone) seem unlikely to be revised any time soon.

Both Madison and Oakton are fine schools as well. If you are trying to plan for 10 years ahead, I would avoid Oakton, however, if only because the attendance area for Oakton could be very fluid. Oakton and Madison are located very close to one another, and most of the current attendance zone for Oakton actually lies well to the west of the school. Depending on what happens, some of those areas could be rezoned to any number of neighboring high schools. Some parents might be fine with that, but it seems that you are looking for as much certainty as possible.

Good luck.

Thanks Marshall Booster.. We are trying to plan for 10 years though since we actually do plan on staying here for family reasons etc. - I went to MS and HS in this area. I was trying to focus on the ES - maybe trying for one that is a GT center in the event one of our kids qualifies (I know it's early- but hey- we can plan just in case) so that they go to their local ES.

The HS worries us more since if we got into a zone that got into a school that we frankly were avoiding (Lee, South Lakes) it would be undesirable to move after our kids were established. I moved around a lot and disliked having to rebuild my social network. It also would impact real estate values.

I appreciate your input- we have the luxury of time since both kids are so young and moving them after kindergarten isn't the end of the world. As for where we work, that can change - we tend to avoid jobs in DC itself- commuting to MD isn't that big of a deal. I think we'll probably remain with jobs in the Tysons to Herndon area.

Bumping up since recent thread asked similar things

Langley district is your safest bet, go there if you can afford it.

Langley school district comes at a cost- there are other places that are also really good- Mclean, oakton, madison, just keep in mind there is a premium

Virginia Run, Stone, Westfield

How about a GT magnet or center ES school to a decent HS?

LLL Wrote:
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> How about a GT magnet or center ES school to a
> decent HS?

Look outside the beltway between 236 and Braddock Road.

Houses much less expensive than Langley. The commute to most locations is also better. Easy access to the beltway, 395, and 66. Close to GMU and Fairfax City. Halfway between Dulles and Reagan National. Close to VRE.

Schools: Canterbury Woods (GT) to Frost (GT) to Woodson (soon to finish renovation; repeatedly listed in this thread as one of the top five high schools.).

Make sure you get on the western side of Canterbury Woods so there is no danger of being redistricted into Annandale to the east.

Does anyone have experience with Oak Hill Elmentary's GT center program?

Greenbriar West > Rocky Run > Chantilly

look into the poplar tree neighbor hood or fair lakes.

GBW is a GT center

PHD in hand Wrote:
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> Greenbriar West > Rocky Run > Chantilly
>
> look into the poplar tree neighbor hood or fair
> lakes.
>
> GBW is a GT center


Be careful, Fair lakes neighbhorhood ends up going to Fairfax HS not Chantilly

No more Vienna students Wrote:
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> will be sent to Marshall. Stu Gibson doesn't want
> to go through another boundary change in his
> district. Madison parents would go NUTS. Not to
> worry, it's not going to happen.

WT Woodson is a very good school as are all the feeder schools. All should avoid Luther Jackson and South Lakes.

So what combos (more than one) are good woodson feeders? how about good gt ones just in case one kiddo makes it?

many thanks

waples mill elementary---> franklin middle-----> Oakton HIgh
All have good gt programs and oakton has ample AP classes. the zone that goes through this filter is geographically small and expensive. But you could do a pupil placement or something and get your kid to go to any school if they are gt material i believe. sorry if this is redundant compared to what other people have said

SHaZbOt Wrote:
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> waples mill elementary---> franklin middle----->
> Oakton HIgh
> All have good gt programs and oakton has ample AP
> classes. the zone that goes through this filter is
> geographically small and expensive. But you could
> do a pupil placement or something and get your kid
> to go to any school if they are gt material i
> believe. sorry if this is redundant compared to
> what other people have said

I thought waples mill didn't have a gt program? That's the one thing making this combo less attractive- ideally, if our kids are in gt, they would be w/ their neighborhood friends..

Willow Springs for a GT program.

Check out the demographics there too.

Very difficult to say. Fairfax County has so many wonderful schools. Great County. Maybe a few duds of schools, we’ll try to keep them hidden….and our tax dollars will keep them from drowning. Good luck in your choices.