High School Daze

We see you through one of the most important decisions of your student’s fledgling academic career: public or private?

College is only one stretch of a long and winding road through a student’s academic journey. First we must decide on a preschool. Then we ensure we are living in a school district that’s the best fit for our families. We opened our college savings accounts while our kids were still inutero, and may have already stacked the applications for when the time comes to decide. But what about high school? We have a choice there, too, and in this region, the choices are abundant. Lucky for you, you have us to map you through this long and arduous journey.

By Maria Scinto

• Alexandria City
• Arlington County
• Fairfax County 
• Loudoun County
• Prince William County
• Stafford County

How We Got Our Info
In addition to delving heavily into state government education resources and individual school websites, as well as other academic resources containing information available to the public (www.greatschools.net, www.publicschoolreview.com, www.privateschoolreview.com, www.collegeboard.com), we also spoke with school administrators to confirm the most accurate and current information available. All figures refer to the 2008-09 school year, unless otherwise noted.

Key To Chart
Enrollment: Total school population enrollment, not just enrollment at the high school level.

Student/Teacher Ratio: Figure reflects the total number of students—of all grade levels—enrolled divided by the number of full-time equivalent teachers (i.e., two half-time teachers equals one FTE).

Ethnic Diversity: Refers to the percentage of non-Caucasian students enrolled in the entire school.

AYP: In Virginia, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) means that at least 77 percent of students have demonstrated proficiency in reading, and 75 percent overall have demonstrated proficiency in mathematics.

AP Courses: Advanced Placement (AP) courses are college-level classes offered to eligible high school students. Many smaller private schools do not offer AP classes as a part of the curriculum, instead offering them at the student’s request.

Accreditation-Adjusted SOL Pass Rates: Overall achievement on Standards of Learning (SOL) tests in English, history/social science, math and science, adjusted to facilitate transfer students and those with limited English proficiency.

Reduced/Free Lunch Eligible: Percentage of students whose households are at or below 1.3x the 2007 federal income poverty guidelines, which qualifies a student for free lunch; at or below 1.85x for reduced-price lunch eligibility.

On-Time Graduation Rate: Percentage of students who earned their diplomas within four years of having entered high school for the first time. Magnet School: A public school offering a special curriculum capable of attracting substantial numbers of students of different racial backgrounds. IB Program: International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program, recognized by many colleges and universities worldwide.

Number of School Safety Offenses: Reflecting the total of all safety offenses reported to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE); the individual categories as defined by the Safe Schools Information Resource (SSIR) include weapons offenses, offenses against student, offenses against staff, other offenses against persons, alcohol, tobacco and other drug offenses, property offenses, disorderly or disruptive behavior offenses, technology offenses and all other offenses.

Median SAT Scores: These are maintained by the College Board and released to the individual schools. In some cases, schools—marked “Not Available”—were unable to report the scores due to a contractual agreement with the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington, and in other cases schools—marked “Will Not Disclose”—elected not to report them to us at all. A reported range in each test section indicates the school has a policy to report only the median 50 percent in concordance with The College Board reports.

Financial Aid: This data varies widely from year to year as it is dependent on a school’s budget. The information provided on the chart is for the 2008-09 school year, and is subject to change for subsequent school years. As such, some schools preferred not to share this information. Uniforms: Some schools mandate a dress code instead of uniforms. These differ from uniform policies in that they are more likely to prohibit certain garments (i.e., too-tight clothing) than to require specific ones.

(August 2009)

Tags: Education, high schools, private schools, public schools