Schools
U.S. News & World Report: Fairfax & Woodson Highs are Top U.S. Schools
In the prestigious annual ranking of top U.S. high schools, both Fairfax and Woodson rank high.
Fairfax County is home to the top five public high schools in Virginia, as well as several more in the top 20, according to the U.S. News and World Report’s 2013 Best High Schools rankings.
Locally, that includes both Woodson and Fairfax high schools.
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U.S. News generated the rankings through a partnership with American Institutes for Research, looking at students’ performance on standardized tests and how successfully schools educated black, Hispanic and low-income students.
James Madison was third in Virginia and 101st nationally in 2013 — both improvements over its 2012 rankings of No. 8. and No. 129 in the state and country, respectively.
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Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology was once again ranked the top school in Virginia. It was ranked No. 4 of all schools nationally, down from its No. 2 post in 2012.
Replacing TJ at No. 2 was BASIS Tucson in Arizona, which jumped from sixth in 2012.
Woodson High School ranked fifth in Virginia and 116th in the nation in 2013, an improvement over its 2012 rank, when it was No. 7 in Virginia and No. 122 in the nation.
Fairfax High came in at No. 11 in Virginia and No. 212 in the nation, also an improvement over last year, when the school ranked No. 13 in Virginia and No. 249 in the nation.
According to the list, the School for the Talented and Gifted in the Dallas Independent School District once again held on to the title of top high school in the nation.
Click here for more information on U.S. News and World Report’s 2013 Best High School rankings.
U.S. News' list is just one of the many Fairfax schools make each year.
Earlier this month, a number of area schools, including Woodson and Fairfax high schools, earned a national ranking on the Washington Post Challenge Index.
usually in May.
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