Summary:
Zip code 22039 in Fairfax Station, Virginia, is served by three public elementary schools—Silverbrook Elementary, Fairview Elementary, and Halley Elementary—all part of Fairfax County Public Schools and serving grades PK–6 with enrollments between 608 and 799 students. These schools share the same district and neighborhood yet present dramatically different academic profiles. Silverbrook and Fairview are top-tier performers, ranking in the 97th and 92nd percentiles of Virginia elementary schools respectively, while Halley ranks in the 35th percentile. The share of economically disadvantaged students ranges from just over 8 percent at Silverbrook to 41 percent at Halley, a gap that aligns closely with differences in academic outcomes.
Silverbrook stands out as the academic leader with a state rank of 34th out of 1,111 schools and proficiency rates in the 90s across math, reading, and science—roughly 19 points above the district average in math and 15 points above in reading. Fairview is a strong and improving school, jumping from 170th to 87th in state ranking over two years, with reading proficiency at 90.4 percent and math at 86.2 percent. By contrast, Halley faces significant challenges: its proficiency rates fall below state averages in most subjects, including just 62 percent in math and 71 percent in reading. Halley also has the highest chronic absenteeism rate at 16.3 percent, compared with 8.6 percent at Silverbrook and 7.7 percent at Fairview.
Notably, spending does not correlate with outcomes: Halley spends the most per student at $13,328 and has the lowest student–teacher ratio at 12.8, yet still trails far behind its neighbors academically. Chronic absenteeism closely tracks performance, with Halley's rate exceeding both the district and state averages. Grade-level trends reveal specific weak spots, including a dip in 6th-grade math at Silverbrook, 5th-grade math at Fairview, and both 5th-grade math and 3rd-grade reading at Halley. Overall, Silverbrook and Fairview are on upward trajectories, while Halley's state ranking has declined for three consecutive years, suggesting targeted interventions in math and early literacy may be needed.
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