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Old 03-17-2015, 01:10 PM
 
5,125 posts, read 10,115,714 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Guard View Post
Thanks for the explanation. I was confusing this with Springfield. I am not that familiar with that area. I call the area a little farther up the Beltway but still outside the beltway Annandale, even though I know it is not. I have seen some nice place in that area and some not so nice places. Which I could say for everywhere I guess.
Annandale is just the 22003 zip code and much of it is outside the Beltway.

I think of West Springfield as 22152, 22153 and the portion of 22151 outside the Beltway. I think of 22151 inside the Beltway as North Springfield, and of 22150 as Springfield or Central Springfield.
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Old 03-17-2015, 03:11 PM
 
Location: Falls Church City
318 posts, read 368,952 times
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It appears that the best areas follow the best school zones
Top Virginia High Schools | Best High Schools | US News - US News
Top Maryland High Schools | Best High Schools | US News - US News
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Old 03-18-2015, 04:30 AM
 
Location: DC/NYC
332 posts, read 870,805 times
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I went to one of the high schools listed on the "best schools" page. A "best school" doesn't necessarily mean that. The best school I went to had a few of the worst teachers (racist, dramatic, bitchy with students) and they still teach there today! Personally I think all the places listed with the exception of Arlington and Central Springfield are the worst areas to commute to from DC. That alone drops down that area to worst place to live in my book.
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Old 03-18-2015, 09:21 AM
 
5,125 posts, read 10,115,714 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cra2ybeautiful View Post
I went to one of the high schools listed on the "best schools" page. A "best school" doesn't necessarily mean that. The best school I went to had a few of the worst teachers (racist, dramatic, bitchy with students) and they still teach there today! Personally I think all the places listed with the exception of Arlington and Central Springfield are the worst areas to commute to from DC. That alone drops down that area to worst place to live in my book.
Well, I'd rather commute to DC from West Springfield or Vienna than from Haymarket or Leesburg, and the school that students who live in Central Springfield attend (Lee HS) isn't on that list. People have to live somewhere - and Arlington doesn't really grab some of us.

Last edited by JD984; 03-18-2015 at 09:59 AM..
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Old 03-18-2015, 09:39 AM
 
Location: West Hollywood, CA from Arlington, VA
2,768 posts, read 3,544,970 times
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I don't understand the obsession with school rankings. If you have ambitious children and you are at least a half-ass parent, your kids will do well at almost any school in Northern Virginia.
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Old 03-18-2015, 09:58 AM
 
5,125 posts, read 10,115,714 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fcyolo View Post
Are you sure it's not the other way around?

US News has a very specific methodology. As a practical matter, local schools get ranked highly if (1) they mostly have students from affluent neighborhoods and (2) the minority and economically-challenged students at those schools exceed a benchmark calculated by US News on state-wide tests. In any given year, a well-regarded school gets kicked out of the US News rankings because one of the sub-groups didn't meet the benchmarks - Lake Braddock in FCPS and Winston Churchill and B-CC in MCPS are good examples in the current rankings, and none of the Arlington high schools were ranked another year. The data used by US News isn't always correct, either.

So, while it might be nice to see your school show up on one of these lists, it could disappear completely the next year, so best to take them with a grain of salt. The rankings don't necessarily have much to do with the opportunities available at a particular school.
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Old 03-18-2015, 10:11 AM
 
601 posts, read 595,182 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gomason View Post
I don't understand the obsession with school rankings. If you have ambitious children and you are at least a half-ass parent, your kids will do well at almost any school in Northern Virginia.
Well, what if you have a child more toward the middle of the curve? How will they fare? Will they be better off in a school more filled with high achievers who have steady, healthy households, or a school that is more diverse in all respects? Does it even matter at all?

These are thoughts that I ponder when I consider about when I consider having kids - I live in a lower SES area. I don't worry about any of my possible future high achievers, I worry more about any of my possible future average and under achievers.

I won't get into anything specific, but I live near a number of Title 1 schools, and have several friends who teach at them, and some of the things they tell me about their students, and their students' parents genuinely upset me.

If the only thing I was set on was good schools, and a nice neighborhood, I'd certainly look to West Springfield.
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Old 03-18-2015, 10:33 AM
 
Location: Falls Church City
318 posts, read 368,952 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JEB77 View Post
Are you sure it's not the other way around?

US News has a very specific methodology. As a practical matter, local schools get ranked highly if (1) they mostly have students from affluent neighborhoods and (2) the minority and economically-challenged students at those schools exceed a benchmark calculated by US News on state-wide tests. In any given year, a well-regarded school gets kicked out of the US News rankings because one of the sub-groups didn't meet the benchmarks - Lake Braddock in FCPS and Winston Churchill and B-CC in MCPS are good examples in the current rankings, and none of the Arlington high schools were ranked another year. The data used by US News isn't always correct, either.

So, while it might be nice to see your school show up on one of these lists, it could disappear completely the next year, so best to take them with a grain of salt. The rankings don't necessarily have much to do with the opportunities available at a particular school.
I don't really care what came first the chicken or the egg, in the end I just want to eat chicken or eggs. My point is if you follow the above lists of good schools and try to buy in those neighborhoods they will have increased competition and higher prices. The places in most demand in Virginia are Arlington, Falls Church City, McLean and Vienna. In my opinion demand and higher prices constitute "best areas" as the original poster put it.
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Old 03-18-2015, 11:11 AM
 
5,125 posts, read 10,115,714 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fcyolo View Post
I don't really care what came first the chicken or the egg, in the end I just want to eat chicken or eggs. My point is if you follow the above lists of good schools and try to buy in those neighborhoods they will have increased competition and higher prices. The places in most demand in Virginia are Arlington, Falls Church City, McLean and Vienna. In my opinion demand and higher prices constitute "best areas" as the original poster put it.
Actually, if you "follow the list," you find schools that students attend who live in other places besides those four, including Oakton, Herndon, Annandale, Fairfax, the Falls Church part of Fairfax County and - wait, wait - West Springfield.

So I don't know where that really leaves you in terms of your preferred dining options. Realistically, I've long understood that a fair number of people on C-D pick or recommend the Burke/West Springfield area over some other areas closer to jobs in places like DC, Fort Belvoir and the Pentagon due to the combination of schools, amenities, and affordability.

Last edited by JD984; 03-18-2015 at 12:34 PM..
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Old 03-18-2015, 01:25 PM
 
1,833 posts, read 2,361,131 times
Reputation: 963
Quote:
Originally Posted by JEB77 View Post
Are you sure it's not the other way around?

US News has a very specific methodology. As a practical matter, local schools get ranked highly if (1) they mostly have students from affluent neighborhoods and (2) the minority and economically-challenged students at those schools exceed a benchmark calculated by US News on state-wide tests. In any given year, a well-regarded school gets kicked out of the US News rankings because one of the sub-groups didn't meet the benchmarks - Lake Braddock in FCPS and Winston Churchill and B-CC in MCPS are good examples in the current rankings, and none of the Arlington high schools were ranked another year. The data used by US News isn't always correct, either.

So, while it might be nice to see your school show up on one of these lists, it could disappear completely the next year, so best to take them with a grain of salt. The rankings don't necessarily have much to do with the opportunities available at a particular school.
Arlington schools not being included in the ranking has nothing to do with that. Arlington county public schools do not participate in US rankings. Also your analysis makes so sense besides that.
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