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Fairfax County Schools Boundary Changes (2014-2015)

News Alert regarding upcoming boundary changes

A message from FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Board Approves Fairfax County Schools Boundary Changes for Fairfax High, Lanier Middle Schools

FCPS 2014 boundary study

FCPS boundary study of Fairfax HS & surrounding schools

The Fairfax County School Board has voted to approve adjustments to school attendance areas in an effort to alleviate overcrowding at Fairfax High School and Lanier Middle School. Continue Reading…

The Top 20% Fairfax County Elementary Schools Ranking (by SOL pass rates 2011-2012)

Sylvia and Marcus are looking for the Top Fairfax County Elementary Schools

Sylvia and Marcus are moving to Fairfax County this Summer.  They have already made a couple of trips this Spring to get themselves familiar with the area, and to figure out which schools are the right ones for their kids.

Sisters looking for Top Elementary Schools in Fairfax County

Emily and Sasha are looking for the Top Fairfax County Elementary Schools

Sylvia and Marcus’s have two kids: Emily and Sasha (rising 6th and 7th graders, respectively).

Emily and Sasha need great Elementary and Middle Schools

As part of their new home purchase, Sylvia and Marcus are looking to find highly-ranked Fairfax County Elementary Schools, as well as great Middle Schools for each of their kids.

And, since they’re planning on staying in Fairfax County for several years, they want to make sure that the High School is also very strong academically.

But how to identify schools with strong academics?

One way to identify schools with high academic scores is to use the Standards of Learning (SOL) passing rates.

The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests are standardized tests applied at all the public schools in Virginia. These tests are useful to see how well a school scored above the district’s average; it’s one of the ways you can use to compare one school vs. another.

To help Sylvia and Marcus with comparing schools with good academics, we compiled for them a table of the average SOL pass rates of all the schools in Fairfax County. Continue Reading…

US News 2013 Best High Schools Ranking

For the year 2013, US News teamed up with a renowned Washington, DC-based research firm to rank all the high schools in America.

Best High Schools Ranking

Best High Schools Rankings

Together, they analyzed over 21,000 public high-schools in 49 states and D.C.*.

How did US News come up with their ranking of Best High Schools?

This year, their ranking methodology was to:

1. Identify the schools that had above-average test results for reading and math (in standardized tests).

2. Next, they considered the results of the least-advantaged students in those schools and ensured that their test results were above their State average as well.

3. Lastly, the schools that made it through the first two steps were judged based on their “College Readiness Index (CRI)”, calculated by using Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB)** test scores of the 2010-2011 academic year.

Getting from qualifying to ranking the Best High Schools Continue Reading…

The Top 3 Middle Schools for getting into Thomas Jefferson HS (TJHSST)

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technhology (TJHSST) is currently ranked as the # 1 High School in Virginia and the #2 High School in the Nation.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST)

How to have the best chance to get into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST)

Amy worked hard in school

A few years ago, I remember my young neighbor Amy coming back from middle school later than most middle school kids in the neighborhood.  I asked her if she was in after-school programs and she said that she came home later because she attended Carson MS instead of our neighborhood-assigned middle school.

A few years later, she had to get up even earlier and come home even later than her High School friends in the neighborhood because she was attending Thomas Jefferson High School.   Now I realize that she was following in her brother’s footsteps and pursuing a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) path toward college.

What is TJHSST? Continue Reading…

Fairfax County Schools: The VIP awards 2013

“I got the job, and we’re moving to Fairfax County!”, said Harry. Sally was excited to hear the news but apprehensive at the same time.  She had moved several times before and it was always so stressful… were there any good Fairfax County schools for their 4 children?

She scoured the web and found that Fairfax County had a select number of schools that were recently in the news for having won a “VIP award”.  That sounded like a great thing, but… what exactly is a VIP award?

The Virginia Index of Performance (VIP) awards

Rocky Run Middle School won the highest award

Rocky Run Middle School earned the highest VIP award

The VIP awards are earned by a few schools in Virginia who meet high standards of learning and who achieve excellence goals established by the Governor and the Board.

The awards are divided into three levels:

  1. The Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence,
  2. The Board of Education Excellence Award, and
  3. The Board of Education Distinguished Achievement Award.

The Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence

To win the Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence, a school or division must meet all State and Federal achievement benchmarks for two consecutive years and achieve all applicable excellence goals that the Board and the Governor have designated.

This year, there were only 2 schools in the entire State of Virginia who earned this award, and one of them is Rocky Run Middle School in Fairfax County.

About Rocky Run Middle School  Continue Reading…

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