Fairfax County’s Thomas Jefferson High School again makes the grade as best in the nation; three other county schools get "gold" or "silver" ranking

Fairfax County, Virginia USA, Thursday, December 10, 2009 -

U.S. News & World Report has again ranked Fairfax County's Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology as the best high school in the United States. "T.J.", which focuses heavily on math and science education, surpassed more than 21,000 other public high schools for the honor. This is the third year that U.S. News has ranked high schools, and T.J. has captured the honor all three times.

T.J. and one other Fairfax County high school (Langley), received gold rankings as two of the 100 best U.S. high schools. Two others (George C. Marshall and James Madison) won silver rankings from the magazine, and three schools (Lake Braddock, McLean and W.T. Woodson) received honorable mentions. Fairfax County has more schools with gold and silver rankings than do 20 states and the District of Columbia.

The rankings are highlighted in the December 8 issue of the magazine. U.S. News ranked those schools across the country with the highest college readiness index scores and placed the top 100 in the gold category. The next 461 top-performing schools won a silver award, 1,189 earned a bronze designation and 37 received honorable mentions.

A U.S. News story about the rankings is at the U.S. News & World Report Web site.

“Businesses consistently tell us that a top-quality public school system is one of the most important things they want in a community,” said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. “Fairfax County’s school system produces highly qualified students ready for higher education and careers.”