Which school district is the best? Fairfax or Loudoun? (Herndon: 2013, neighborhood)

[RosemaryNThyme]

My husband has recently been offered a job in Herndon Virginia. We like the look of Loudoun county. We have three school aged children and two are very smart. We need schools with good services for high preforming kids. We thought Loudoun schools were pretty good until I found this Where are the Best Schools in the Washington DC area? What is Fairfax county doing that Loudoun and Prince William are not doing? | Virginia Virtucon

What are your thoughts? Why does Loudoun have so few high achieving students? Why aren't there more national merit scholar semi-finalists? We know that Fairfax has GT centers and TJHHST. Is that what's making the difference? Or is there something else lacking in Loudoun schools? Why don't Loudoun kids score as well on the PSAT and the SAT?

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by RosemaryNThyme

My husband has recently been offered a job in Herndon Virginia. We like the look of Loudoun county. We have three school aged children and two are very smart. We need schools with good services for high preforming kids. We thought Loudoun schools were pretty good until I found this Where are the Best Schools in the Washington DC area? What is Fairfax county doing that Loudoun and Prince William are not doing? | Virginia Virtucon

What are your thoughts? Why does Loudoun have so few high achieving students? Why aren't there more national merit scholar semi-finalists? We know that Fairfax has GT centers and TJHHST. Is that what's making the difference? Or is there something else lacking in Loudoun schools? Why don't Loudoun kids score as well on the PSAT and the SAT?

There is nothing wrong with Loudoun schools. They have plenty of high achieving students. If you have high achieving kids and parents who are pushing and working the kids at home, the children will be successful no matter what school district the kids end up in.

At the risk of sounding like I'm ignoring your question, the best school district is the one where your family will have short commutes and a housing situation that fits the needs of your family. If you like Loudoun better, go for Loudoun schools (and I say this as an FCPS teacher).

The only negative I've heard from LCPS is that they are doing integrated honors classes at some schools--where they put all levels in a classroom (middle/high school) and expect the teacher to be able to differentiate. Fairfax is technically doing the same thing with their open enrollment honors (anyone can be in honors classes if their parents sign a paper), but they still maintain different levels of classes.

[CAVA1990]

I'm sure it's just a result of slightly different demographics and has little to do with the quality of the schools. I second the idea of focusing more on the appeal of the neighborhood and ease of commute.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by RosemaryNThyme

My husband has recently been offered a job in Herndon Virginia. We like the look of Loudoun county. We have three school aged children and two are very smart. We need schools with good services for high preforming kids. We thought Loudoun schools were pretty good until I found this Where are the Best Schools in the Washington DC area? What is Fairfax county doing that Loudoun and Prince William are not doing? | Virginia Virtucon

What are your thoughts? Why does Loudoun have so few high achieving students? Why aren't there more national merit scholar semi-finalists? We know that Fairfax has GT centers and TJHHST. Is that what's making the difference? Or is there something else lacking in Loudoun schools? Why don't Loudoun kids score as well on the PSAT and the SAT?

I think you've answered the question. As best I can tell, the main difference between Fairfax and neighboring jurisdictions is that FCPS has better known AAP programs and TJ, which attract more families, often Asian, who place a great deal of importance on education. It leads to higher SATs and more NMSFs. Note, though, that the number of NMSFs reported for Fairfax in your link probably includes all the TJ NMSFs, even though about 20% of TJ students live in other jurisdictions.

The emphasis on AAP and TJ in FCPS isn't without a cost, however, as it can create tensions that may not exist in other systems, for example, as to how many AAP students should be allowed to attend crowded elementary and middle school "AAP centers." Some people prefer systems where such issues consume less time and attract less attention, even if the average test scores are lower. An SAT is just one test. Some people prefer Loudoun schools because they tend to be newer and smaller than their Fairfax counterparts.

[marie5v]

I agree with most of what has already been said. I don't think the difference is related to the schools. It's just a population thing. In any case, it's certainly not true that every school in Ffx is better than every school in Loudoun. You have to compare the individual schools that your kids would be attending instead of the counties as a whole. I don't know Loudoun very well, but I worked in Fairfax and I do know that we share the same teachers and pretty much the same state curriculum. And in spite of what people say, the schools in Fairfax are NOT all equal. Look closely at the actual schools in the neighborhood you plan to live in and that will be a better way to choose than trying to compare the counties overall.

[choff5]

True to everything that has been said. One area that is different, if you have a kindergarten student, is Loudoun still has half day kindergarten while all of Fairfax schools now have full day kindergarten.