Arlington v Bethesda

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by skijmpr

Schools in South Arlington are still in the top tier nationwide, and that's nothing to scoff at.

No they're not. Wakefield's average SAT score is below the national mean for college-bound seniors.

Washington-Lee is both diverse and high-quality.

[skijmpr]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

No they're not. Wakefield's average SAT score is below the national mean for college-bound seniors.

Could you provide a link to data that supports this claim?

As another measure of how good all the Arlington schools are, look no further than Jay Matthews' Challenge Index 2007:

America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com

You will find the following:

13 H-B Woodlawn
33 Washington-Lee
59 Yorktown
318 Wakefield

So as I said, relative to the other Arlington schools Wakefield doesn't look so hot. But compared against other schools nationwide it is still a very good school. That list only shows the top 1300 schools nationwide as judged by their criteria. There are thousands more that didn't even make the list (my high school included).

[vanyali]

That challenge index is bogus. I don't think it really measures all that much.

[claremarie]

Wakefield has done some interesting things to challenge its largely lower-income (mostly Hispanic) students to take AP classes, which is why it ranks higher on the Challenge Index than one would expect from a school with its demographics.

However, AP courses were never intended for ALL high school students, especially those for whom English is not their first language. Opening these courses to all students will change the experience for more gifted students, who can't move ahead because so many of their classmates struggle with the material.

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by skijmpr

Could you provide a link to data that supports this claim?

http://www2.apsva.us/154010717123425...3/SAT_2007.PDF

Arlington County Test Scores - nat'l avg for college bound seniors is 1528, avg for all Virginia test takers is 1520, avg at Wakefield is 1428

[skijmpr]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

http://www2.apsva.us/154010717123425...3/SAT_2007.PDF

Arlington County Test Scores - nat'l avg for college bound seniors is 1528, avg for all Virginia test takers is 1520, avg at Wakefield is 1428

Interesting, thanks for digging up the link!

[CHIP72]

If you go to the National Zoo via the Metro, get off at Cleveland Park rather than Adams Morgan; the walk to the zoo is downhill from Cleveland Park and uphill from Adams Morgan.

[slim04]

Wakefield is an excellent school, but it isn't for everyone. 55% of the students receive subsidized lunches, so the school is mostly children of poor to middle class families. Their parents often lack any secondary education or even H.S. diplomas (not the whole school, just a substantial amount).

The excellent faculty and staff basically take a school filled with many students that probably wouldn't even consider going to college and eventually get them to earn college degrees. The teachers really take an interest in the students and don't let them get lost in the crowd. I find this very commendable and wholeheartedly believe they earned their rankings.

However, if you have a pretty smart child in a high achieving, well educated family, this school probably isn't the best. It simply doesn't have a large number of students taking the most difficult classes, as compared to Yorktown or McLean. Sure they can get a decent education there, but it is likely they will be more challenged and learn at a faster pace elsewhere.

This was based on a conversation I had with an Arlington E.S. teacher who loves Wakefield for it has been able to achieve.