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Best Fairfax County Schools: The VIP Awards

May 16 by Marina Brito

Jason and his family are moving to Fairfax County this coming school year, and Jason’s parents want to make sure that he attends the best schools in Fairfax County and is as challenged as possible throughout his school experience.

Kids earn Academic Performance Awards

Virginia Schools also earn Academic Performance Awards

Jason is currently in elementary school, so his parents want to make sure that he has the opportunity to go to a top elementary school, in a couple of years attend a top middle school, and further down the road a top high school.

For this, they would like to know which are the best schools in Fairfax County, VA.  And they figured that the Virginia Department of Education would have a list of its best schools, and specifically for their needs, the best ones in Fairfax County.

Which are the best schools in Virginia?

Continue Reading…

The 13 Most Resilient High Schools in Fairfax County

December 12 by Marina Brito

Each year for the past 3 years, the Virginia Department of Education has updated their standardized tests known as the Standards of Learning (SOLs).

How resilient to tougher standardized tests is a school?

How resilient to tougher standardized tests is a school?

The SOLs are administered toward the end of the year to all students starting in grade 3. These tests are one way to try to objectively measure the performance of a school.

The intention of the SOLs is to measure how well the school districts are educating the students, so each year, they challenge the kids a little more, and they make the tests a little bit harder.

For example, the overall SOL passing rate* for all of Virginia has gone down the last three years due to the tests getting tougher:

Virginia SOL Passing Rates (last 3 years) Continue Reading…

How to get into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST)

October 4 by Marina Brito

How to get into Thomas Jefferson High School (ranked #1 in VA)?

Well, how did Serena Williams become the #1 ranked female tennis player?

Serena Williams didn’t just decide one day to play tennis with the pros.  No, she practiced, and practiced from when she was 4 years old.  She took lessons, attended a tennis academy for several years, and played for many hours every day.

Serena Williams wins the 2013 US Open

Serena Williams wins the 2013 US Open

By the time Serena was ready to participate in the pros, she didn’t just show up at the tournament – she had 10 years of experience playing tennis, and she was ready to compete with the best of them.

So you see, when you want to be among the best, you have to start early to be ready.

Virginia’s best high school:
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST)

In Fairfax County, we are lucky to have one of the best high schools in the entire US (currently ranked #2 nationally by US News): Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (a.k.a. TJHSST, or “TJ”).  But getting in is not easy and students must start preparing early to be ready.

TJ is a school which caters to highly achieving students specifically focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); and although it is located in Fairfax County, it is technically not part of the Fairfax County Public Schools district.  Instead, TJ is a Virginia state-chartered magnet school, which serves students from across several school districts in Northern Virginia.

So, when studying at TJ, students are being challenged by the best of the best in the entire region.

Getting into TJ is like getting into a pro tournament

Just like in a pro tournament, one doesn’t walk into TJ just expecting to get in.  It takes a good dose of preparation to have the best chance.

What’s required to get into TJ?

The first step is to live within the area serviced by TJ, such as the following 6 participating school districts: Continue Reading…

US News 2013 Best High Schools Ranking

April 26 by Marina Brito

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)

April 19 by Marina Brito

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…

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