Local schools’ performance varies on new state rating system
The majority of public schools in Fairfax County have been rated as “distinguished” or “on track” under the state’s new standards for rating schools.
The School Performance and Support Framework was adopted by the Virginia Board of Education in September 2024.
Under the new system, all Fairfax County schools are fully accredited.
Schools get points for certain metrics, such as performance on Virginia’s Standards of Learning test results, year-to-year improvements on SOL tests, chronic absenteeism, advanced coursework in middle school, graduation, graduates with an advanced degree, and graduates ready for college or careers.
Local schools’ performance varies
Schools that got 90 points or more based on data from the 2024-05 school year are labeled Distinguished. These schools are exceeding the state’s expectations for achievement, growth, readiness, and graduation.
Distinguished schools serve as models of best practices and have access to regional instructional consultants and grants from the state.
The following schools that serve Mason District/Annandale students are labeled Distinguished: Belvedere Elementary School, Canterbury Woods ES, Wakefield Forest ES, Frost Middle School, Annandale High School, Edison HS, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, and Woodson HS.
Schools meeting the state’s expectations for achievement, growth, readiness, and graduation, but have 80-89 points, are labeled On Track.
These schools serving Mason District/Annandale students are labeled On Track: Camelot ES, Columbia ES, Mason Crest ES, North Springfield ES, Ravensworth ES, Sleepy Hollow ES, Falls Church HS, and Justice HS.
Related story: School news roundup – December 2025
Schools with 65-79 points are identified as Off Track (65-79 points).
Off Track schools in the Mason District/Annandale area include Annandale Terrace ES, Beech Tree ES, Bren Mar Park ES, and Glasgow, Holmes, Jackson, and Poe middle schools.
Schools with less than 65 points are “significantly” failing to meet the state’s expectations for achievement, growth, readiness, and graduation, and need intensive support.
Bailey’s ES, Bailey’s Upper ES, Braddock ES, Glen Forest ES, Parklawn ES, Weyanoke ES, and Woodburn ES fall into the Need Intensive Support category.
A focus on test scores
The School Performance and Support Framework places a greater emphasis on standardized test mastery and less emphasis on individual student growth, says Superintendent Michelle Reid. It also places less emphasis on graduation rates and readiness.
A school’s rating under the new system “can be lowered if it receives a federal designation, such as Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), based on the performance of one or more student groups,” Reid said. “Seventeen FCPS schools met state requirements to be On Track but were reclassified because of this TSI identification.”
“FCPS remains a world-class school division, with five of the top 10 elementary schools and seven of the top 10 high schools in Virginia,” she said. “We are proud of everything that we have achieved together, through the dedication of our staff, the support of our families, and the hard work of our students.”
Reid said, “FCPS remains committed to transparent communication, strong academic expectations, and supporting every student’s unique learning needs, hopes, and dreams. This new framework will not change our focus on excellence, equity, and opportunity for all students.”
Annandale HS rated “Distinguished”
The designation of Distinguished for Annandale High School is a “significant achievement,” said Principal Shawn DeRose.
More than 70 percent of AHS students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. “Our community faces challenges that many schools don’t encounter. Yet we didn’t just meet expectations, we exceeded them,” DeRose said.
He credits the school’s outstanding performance to Annandale’s focus on building strong connections between students and staff, high-quality instruction, and a collaborative culture among teachers.
“We outperformed predictions, defied stereotypes, and demonstrated what is possible when a community comes together with purpose and commitment,” DeRose said. “We are incredibly proud of this recognition.”
With property taxes continuing to rise, taxpayers must demand, not merely ask for, a careful evaluation of all education expenditures. Virginia’s new accountability framework makes clear that outcomes, test mastery, attendance, graduation readiness, and subgroup performance, are what ultimately matter. Spending must be aligned with those results.
Programs and initiatives that do not directly support core instruction should be scrutinized for the value they add, and weighed against what they subtract from the central mission of educating students. Excessive administrative overhead, consultant‑driven projects, and duplication of functions across central offices and schools deserve particular attention. When multiple offices perform overlapping roles, resources are diverted away from classrooms,,without improving student outcomes.
Taxpayers are not opposed to investing in education; we expect a return on that investment. Every dollar should deliver bang for buck, not bang for fluff, prioritizing literacy, math proficiency, English‑language acquisition, special education services, and attendance intervention over administrative expansion or poorly measured programs. Transparent evaluation and reallocation are not ideological positions; they are fiscal responsibilities, owed to students, families, and the taxpayers who fund the system.
Annandale is distinguished , while Poe is off track and Braddock elementary is in need to intense support?
Since Braddock and Poe are the schools that send students to Annandale. i do not think the rating system id accurate. how else to explain the disparity of scores?
Lots of things could be driving the difference. Demographics change, socioeconomic conditions change, parents and the priorities/ support they provide change, how the schools deal with students that need “extra help” (more instruction or remedial) changes, and so many more variables. If Poe and Braddock are challenged then it will show up at Annandale in the future. When the “No Child Left Behind” testing and scoring came in, it was the first time that you could really compare scores and schools. When I looked at the results and the look at behavioral matters, it gave me as a parent and a home buyer information to consider (I bought in the Annandale pyramid, despite some significant concerns about the middle schools). BTW almost all middle schools are behaviorally challenged because the students are going through puberty. The point is we are measuring to a high standard, reporting it for all to see, & now we have to hold BOTH the School Board and the Board of Supervisors accountable for positive outcomes with difficult decisions on non-core spending decisions. The raise the real estate tax mantra of elected officials has to change because the tax base employment has changed dramatically (less Federal workers and less Federal contractors). It is going to be harder going forward.
The state’s accountability system asks one question: can students read, write, and do math? The NEA’s latest directive demands something else entirely, compliance with ideological language norms like neopronouns and xeopronouns. These agendas cannot coexist. Pronoun experiments do not raise literacy or numeracy; they function only as distractions and compliance tests.
Fairfax County’s School Board has in the past indulged the NEA, and there is little reason to expect them to change course now. If that continues, instruction will remain secondary to signaling. The predictable outcome is classrooms where energy is spent policing words rather than teaching skills. When schools trade results for rhetoric, students are the ones who lose.
Parents must make it clear at school board meetings that the priority is education, not indulging the latest NEA desire to promulgate conceptual identities. Only by insisting on results over rhetoric can the focus return to teaching and learning.
Ma’am, your obsession with pronouns is out of control.
The sarcastic use of “ma’am,” along with your claim that I am “obsessed,” is simply a way to avoid addressing the substance of what I have raised.
My comments were not about pronouns. They were about the county’s gender‑identity policy potentially putting $168 million in federal funding at risk, and about FCPS claiming budget shortfalls while allocating $5.7 million to DEI. Those are questions of compliance and priorities. Sarcasm does not answer them.
Deflective commentary that fails even to rise to the level of the inane doesn’t advance the discussion. Adults are talking, feel free to rejoin when you’re ready.
I was shocked to see that Braddock could get reduced Federal funding! Reduced funding will make the scores worse and penalizes students. making them pay for what is probably not their fault.
student instruction and well being should be the priority going forward,
Hi there.
I live nextdoor in Springfield. How can I look up my neighborhood schools?
They said I had posted this before but this is my first time.