Virginia, DC Best School Districts 2021: New Rankings Released

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Data compiler Niche has ranked its Best Schools rankings for the 2020-2021 school year, and that included lists specific to the DC region and Virginia.

Each school district received an overall letter grade as well as a letter grade in the following categories: academics; diversity; teachers; college prep; clubs & activities; health & safety; administration; sports; food; and resources & facilities. (You can read more about the methodology here.)

School districts were graded based on a number of factors: academics with a 50 percent weight, teachers with a 15 percent weight, culture and diversity with a 10 percent weight, parent/student surveys on overall experience with a 10 percent weight, health and safety with a 5 percent weight, resources and facilities with a 5 percent weight, clubs and activities with a 2.5 percent weight, and sports with a 2.5 percent weight. Niche uses public data sources such as the U.S. Department of Education, test scores, college data, and ratings from Niche users.

The top-ranked school district in the DC region is Falls Church City Public Schools. Niche gave the school system an overall A+ grade and in the academics and college prep categories. Health and safety received an A- grade and sports received an A. Grades in the B-level included teachers, clubs and activities, administration, diversity, and resources and facilities.

Here are the DC region's top school districts, according to Niche.com:

1. Falls Church City Public Schools: Falls Church, Virginia
2. Washington Latin Public Charter Schools: Washington, DC
3. Arlington Public Schools: Arlington, Virginia
4. Loudoun County Public Schools: Loudoun County, Virginia
5. Montgomery County Public Schools: Montgomery County, Maryland
6. Fairfax County Public Schools: Fairfax County, Virginia
7. Prince William County Public Schools: Prince William County, Virginia
8. Charles County Public Schools: Charles County, Maryland

The following school districts were not ranked but received an overall letter grade:

• Alexandria City Public Schools: B-
• District of Columbia Public Schools: B-
• Manassas Park City Public Schools: B-
• Manassas City Public Schools: C

Some districts topping the DC region list appeared on the Virginia list. Falls Church City Public Schools also led that list.

Here are Virginia's top school districts as determined by Niche.com:

1. Falls Church City Public Schools: Falls Church, Virginia
2. Arlington Public Schools: Arlington, Virginia
3. West Point Public Schools: West Point, Virginia
4. Loudoun County Public Schools: Loudoun County, Virginia
5. York County School Division: York County, Virginia
6. Fairfax County Public Schools: Fairfax County, Virginia
7. Charlottesville City Schools: Charlottesville, Virginia
8. Albemarle County Public Schools: Albemarle County, Virginia
9. Virginia Beach City Public Schools: Virginia Beach, Virginia
10. Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools: Williamsburg, Virginia

In the overall best public high schools ranking for the nation, Fairfax County's Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology was ranked third. The school is an admissions-based governor's school open to students in several Northern Virginia school districts. FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand has presented recommendations to revise the admissions policy to boost access to underserved students. In October, the Fairfax County School Board came to a consensus to eliminate the admissions test and application fee, and support an increase in student enrollment.

For the 2020-2021 ranking, Niche looked at more than 94,000 public schools, 4,100 private schools and nearly 11,000 school districts across the country. The rankings are meant to help parents and students find schools that best fit their needs.

"Unlike traditional school rankings, which rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance, Niche's rankings provide a real-life view of what it's like to attend a given school," the company said in a news release.

To see the full rankings, visit www.niche.com/k12/rankings.