Annandale HS students are excelling academically
Don’t pay attention to the negative ratings on Annandale High School, says Principal Shawn DeRose.
“Annandale students performed really well academically last year, and the school is accredited in every area and demographic subgroup,” DeRose says.
Nevertheless, the school ratings company, GreatSchools designated AHS “below average” in test scores.
Niche, another ratings company reported Annandale has a graduation rate of just 81 percent, when the Virginia Department of Education puts the school’s graduation rate at 92 percent.
Niche also faulted Annandale for offering a minimal number of Advanced Placement courses, minimal AP enrollment, and a 29 percent pass rate on AP scores.
In fact, DeRose points out, Annandale offers college prep courses through the more demanding International Baccalaureate Programme, not AP.
Annandale offers 42 IB courses. Thirty-four percent of eligible students are enrolled in an IB course, and 54 percent earned a passing score on their IB exams.
The incorrect data are especially damaging as families often look at GreatSchools and Niche when deciding where to live.
“Reflecting on the past school year, we are incredibly proud of the growth and achievements our school community has experienced,” DeRose wrote in a 2023-24 Year-End Report. “Our collective commitment to academic excellence, coupled with our ability to collaborate at the highest levels, has driven significant improvements in student outcomes, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
Annandale’s Standards of Learning scores in reading for 2023-24 averaged 95 percent, a significant increase from 91 percent the previous year, while the state average dropped from 85 to 84 percent.
SOL math scores at AHS averaged 90 percent, compared to the state average of 84 percent. Average AHS science scores increased by nine percent in just one year.
According to DeRose, Annandale is outperforming the other six Fairfax County high schools where a majority of students are from low-income households.
Sixty-nine percent of AHS students are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals. Only Justice High School has a higher percentage.
Annandale is soaring in other areas, as well. The attendance rate has improved by 10 percent over the past three years, DeRose reports.
In another key measure, 80 percent of AHS students said they feel connected to at least one adult at school.
DeRose promotes that sense of connectedness by having teachers stay with students for all four years and providing teachers with dedicated time for meeting with students. The school also makes a concerted effort to encourage students to play a sport or join a club.
Annandale also has a low teacher attrition rate. Only 25 teachers left the school last year, and most of them left because they moved out of the area or got promoted.
“Our teachers do a really good job of providing quality instruction in the classroom,” DeRose says. “When kids have really high-quality instruction, they do well.”
Annandale High School will have a big presence at the Taste of Annandale on Sept. 21. Grammy-winning music educator Annie Ray will be there, and so will the Annandale Booster Club and the culinary arts program.
26 responses to “Annandale HS students are excelling academically”
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Big whoop comparing that school to the state. As far as the county is concerned it’s garbage. That’s why anybody with money sends their kids to private school. I bet most of the private school rosters come with a 22003 area code. I’m spending over 100k annually on school because of it, very disappointing and not an expense I was prepared for
Of course they get it together when I’ve already graduated, I struggled so much in college.
Wow, reading that wasted 20 seconds of my life that I’ll never get back.
I might as well round up to a minute to sincerely say that It’s great that you have the means and will to invest in your childrens’ education. It’s very important.
I also sincerely hope $100,000 includes the basic analytical, and critical thinking skills that help one make contributions to make useful, relevant contributions to any discussion and compelling arguments to support one’s position.
Your posts suggests a complete lack of those skills or awareness of their value. Unless you have something useful to share on the topic, turn the volume back up on Sean Hannity and quit throwing bombs at Shawn DeRose.
His post had much more of a point than yours. And I agree with him.
Not all of 22003 is assigned to AHS
Are there much better high schools in Fairfax than Annandale, assuredly; and Annandale HS does deserves credit for improving given the huge impact of previous boundary changes that brought a high concentration of challenged students (lower number of prepared students & higher number of non-English speaking students). Now comes a bigger challenge for the school district and Annandale HS, under the previous State accreditation system, the state granted students who are classified in Fairfax County as “multi-language learners,” or “English language learners,” 11 semesters of exemption from certain accreditation standards, such as standardized tests in reading. Now, English learners will be included in each school’s accreditation analysis after only three semesters. Public schools that do not fully adopt and fail to implement the state’s required corrective actions will be denied accreditation. So either more recourses from the county will have to go to schools like Annandale (and less to McLean or others), or this summer’s School Board approved redistricting initiative could be used to redistribute better prepared students to challenged schools with little regard for geography to “paper over” the challenges. Watch your elected officials on BOTH the Fairfax School Board for how they choose to deal with this, and the Board of Supervisors for how they agree or not with funding decisions.
$100k? Wow, I know school is expensive but damn. That must be for 3+ kids at premier schools
Caveat emptor. Please perform some research before buying in the Annandale district with kids as it is not one of the top performing high schools in the county. All of Fairfax County schools are not equal. $100k a year seems like enough to help to put a down payment on a house in a better district.
Even if the school is substandard compared to the rest of the county, it is still improving, which is what counts. I graduated from AHS and attended the top university in the state, got my master’s, and am currently working on a doctorate. AHS had its problems, but there was also a rich cultural mix and ample opportunity to share multiple perspectives with fellow students. We need a culture of academic encouragement and objective analysis of what can be done to improve the situation. Many students come from families that cannot support their children academically outside what the school system offers. Can and should the school do better? Absolutely! But only constructive criticisms help – otherwise, they’re just complaining/whining.
Thank you for this perspective and congrats on your success! You are a credit to AHS and to the Annandale community.
Thank you, Passerby, for sharing your experience. I know many people – parents and former AHS students – who would agree with you, as do I.
My three children graduated from AHS and, along with their friends, have achieved tremendous career success. They all attribute it to the international nature of having gone to high school with classmates from almost 90 different countries. That type of education cannot be measured nor discounted, especially in a world of global markets, global finance, global turmoil, and the absolute requirement for global solutions to our global problems. What we have found is that many of the kids who were spoiled, and whose parents were too scared of exposing their children to a diverse student body, have mostly failed in life, not able to find themselves, and floundering in a changing world. AHS is among the best schools in the world!
LOL. No. No it’s not. Not even close
How many students were accepted at accredited universities? Not many. After all it’s Annandale.
Glad you asked. Students in the Annandale HS Class of 2024 are headed to Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, George Mason University, George Washington University, American University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of North Carolina, University of Pennsylvania, James Madison University, Michigan State, William and Mary, Johns Hopkins University, and many more.
The only Ivy is Brown. You prove Julio’s point.
Incorrect. UPenn is an ivy as well. And a bunch she listed are so-called Public Ivies.
And, it seems like you misunderstand “accredited university.”
Where did you go to school?
I’ll assume you are being serious here…..
A) he said accredited, not Ivy League, not sure where you got that from
B) Penn is in the Ivy League
Good try!
Overrated Ivy league schools are not the gold standard. Congrats if you went to one, but its not even close to being necessary to get a good higher education and excel in life. Oh, and University of Pennsylvania is also an Ivy League school genius.
UPenn is also an Ivy
Not sure why Ivy League schools matter so much to you, especially since you don’t seem to know that University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League school.
I saw Penn the second after I posted… too late. I figured someone would notice, but WOW you all sure pounced! Methinks the posters doth protest too much. 😂🤣
The amount of trolls on here is absurd. Folks do not want conversations, they want to yell crazy stuff with zero context/data/facts with the sole purpose of, what, starting fights? What a sad life, I don’t get it.
you have no idea how many comments are rejected
Glad you asked! Annandale HS prepared me with rigorous IB courses. Not only did I get into college, but I already had 15+ college credits because of the advanced courses I took at Annandale. I came to this country at the age of 10, so English is not my first language… Guess what? I now have my doctorate. Speak for yourself, AHS prepared me well and I’m proud to be an ATOM!
What specific strategies or programs did Principal DeRose implement to drive significant improvements in student outcomes at Annandale High School, and how can other schools replicate this success?”