Schools in Zip Code 22101

Zip code 22101 in McLean, Virginia is home to 7 public schools in Fairfax County Public Schools, including 4 elementary schools (PK–6), 1 middle school (7–8), and 2 high schools (9–12), serving approximately 8,006 students in one of the most academically elite and affluent clusters in the state. Every school in this zip code ranks at or above the 89th percentile statewide, with free/reduced-price lunch eligibility ranging from just 2.05% to 12.97%. The four elementary schools—Kent Gardens Elementary, Churchill Road Elementary, Chesterbrook Elementary, and Sherman Elementary—feed into Cooper Middle, which then feeds into McLean High and Langley High.

Kent Gardens Elementary is the standout of the cluster, ranked #4 in Virginia (100th percentile) and improving from #23 to #7 to #4 over three years, with 100% 5th grade math proficiency and 97.5% science proficiency despite having the lowest per-student spending in the zip at $9,471. Churchill Road Elementary is close behind at #7, with the lowest FRL rate (2.05%) and consistent top-12 rankings for three consecutive years. Cooper Middle ranks #18 of 416 middle schools, with 8th grade science proficiency at 91.85% and 100% proficiency in accelerated math courses. Langley High ranks #13 of 331 high schools with a 99.6% graduation rate and 0.0% dropout rate, while McLean High ranks #62 with a 96.0% graduation rate and 2.3% dropout rate—both still well above the district and Virginia state averages.

A clear divide exists between the two high schools: Langley outperforms McLean on nearly every metric, including graduation rate, dropout rate, chronic absenteeism (10.1% vs. 13.0%), and FRL rate (4.36% vs. 12.97%), and McLean has slipped from #29 to #62 in recent rankings. Notably, spending does not predict performance—Sherman Elementary spends the most per student ($13,033) yet ranks lowest in the zip, while Kent Gardens spends the least and ranks highest. Chronic absenteeism rises with grade level, from 3.7%–6.1% in elementary schools to 8.9% at Cooper and 10.1%–13.0% at the high schools. One anomaly worth investigating: 11th grade reading proficiency is ~97% at both high schools, but 12th grade reading drops sharply to 61%–64%, and advanced math placement is remarkably strong across all levels, with multiple schools achieving 100% proficiency in Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry.