Oakton High School

2900 Sutton Road

School District

Fairfax County Public Schools
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

public

School Map for Fairfax County Public Schools

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on November 29, 2024

It is the best school yet so amazing and outgoing! I love how incredibly nice the staff and teachers are. The teaching skills are outgoing! They also have many sports and clubs to join. My kids were in volleyball as well as engineering. But they moved on to college one went to JMU the other went to George Mason. The graduation is amazing at this school. I 100% recommend sending your child here.
Submitted by other on February 01, 2024

Too many rodents. One dropped through the math teachers ceiling
Submitted by student on March 11, 2022

The Teachers and Staff are very kind and understanding. They offer a large selection class (There's something for everyone). They also offer lots clubs and sports programs. Also the school is newly renovated with lots court yards and a nice cafeteria.
Submitted by parent on March 01, 2022

so nice, I love it, great teachers
Submitted by parent on December 29, 2020

Both kids had a great academic and social experiences at OHS. Very involved with sports. Both went on to top VA schools: JMU and VT. Very happy with OHS overall.
Submitted by other on April 04, 2020

Oakton is a top notch school all around. The academics, in-school activities, and extracurricular activities are all outstanding. Like every school, it’s not perfect, but its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, which are still relatively slight when compared to even other top schools in the area. Oakton has long had a policy of molding students into future leaders and productive members of society rather than catering to the whims of parents and kids who want hand holding.
Submitted by parent on December 16, 2019

Great in some areas, horrible in others. Unfortunately, the horrible will likely affect my child's future success.
Submitted by parent on December 28, 2017

We have found the curriculum to be challenging but they also have good supports in place for those with unique learning needs.
Submitted by other on May 10, 2016

Not bad. Most things at this school are relatively good. The teachers are good, the classes are quite good, and the community and diversity is alright. I have three big complaints though:1. The school facility is tiny and cramped and old. It is up for renovation in a few years, but still, the hallway often fills up with students, slowing down movement in the hallways.2. It seems very clique-y. Although there is a diverse background of students, people don't seem to really talk much outside of their friend group, and this is made worse because most teachers allow groups to be picked during group projects instead of assigning groups.3. This is not as important as the other two, but the cafeteria food is, to put it politely, lacking. The lunches are small and often bland and flavorless, and the textures are kind of weird and squishy a lot of the time. I'd recommend bringing your own lunch.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2014

Oakton is an excellent school, but needs work to stay on top against competition from other excellent schools in FCPS. Let's get the bad out of the way first. 1. The principal is totally MIA. I have NEVER seen him at a school event, and my kid has only ever seen him once, at a football game. Being used to other FCPS schools this shocked me, and is a red flag. The principal is like the standard bearer of an army: if they are missing, something is not right. 2. The facility is decrepit. For example, mice in the science labs and mold in the bathrooms (which was only resolved when the students kicked up a stink about it and went public) Now for the good: 3. The teachers are very good. Core subjects taught very well and electives strong too. Too many good ones to name but Sharkoffmadrid was a standout in Art History and Jones was a Latin rock star. I'm told Jones was pushed out and ended up at Flint Hill, which if true would be another strike against the administration: she was Teacher of the Year material.
Submitted by student on May 21, 2014

Attending from 2008-2012, there was little support for clubs and extra curricular activities, with the majority of which being self funded by students. While money was tight due to the economy. The teachers are okay, there was a good number of engaging faculty members that challenged and worked with the students, however there seemed to always be at least one or two teachers per department who were, in a way, under-performing in their duties as educators. As far as the principal leadership goes, it seems like the principal and his staff members were at a disconnect with the other faculty and the students. The severe lack of personal involvement by the administrators was evident in that they were only present for the handing out of disciplinary action and then putting students on their way instead of trying to seek a reform. The school social structure is divided in two segments. There are two types of students a person can be, with little overlap. AP students hardly mingle with general education students, leading to a system where general students wouldn't seek to challenge themselves, for the fear of entering what would seem like a whole new school.
Submitted by student on May 01, 2014

its a poor school now. Parents obviously don't understand anything that is really going on. most teachers are terrible few are tolerable. in each of my years, I have had one teacher I have actually looked forward to seeing and learning. Most teachers just give you filler packets and then slightly alter them and give them to you as homework and then give tests on completely different material
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2013

I'm constantly amazed at how poorly run this school is. Oakton has a reputation for graduating students for some of the finest colleges and universities. However my daughter's teacher scheduled a field trip to NYC that conflicts with SAT testing. Hello, anybody home there?? Apparently no one is responsible for approving this, or they are just incompetent and not checking for conflicts like this. Guess the parents must be amazing to offset incompetence like this.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2012

I've had 4 kids go through Oakton and have been a parent of a student since 2000. Really great school. A few complaints - we hit bad teachers only in math, but consistently one of the kids had a bad math teacher from 2000 - 2011. They dropped Honors classes around 2008 forcing all kids into AP everything or gen ed. Gen ed was ridiculously easy and AP was ridiculously hard so there was no happy medium for the kids. Also lots of emphasis and support of the sports teams but little support for any other student activity. Otherwise, this is a school to be proud of.
Submitted by parent on July 23, 2012

Great school. My son is a rising senior and my daughter will enter the school in a year. My son has nothing but great things to say about his teachers, peers and coaches. He gets good grades and the teachers challenge him and he has a lot of homework and exams/quizzes but that's why it's a great school...because the teachers care. Yes, there are a lot of rich families and the school have clicks and as a parent, I don't care for that either. However, there are average families with good kids as well. You just have to look.
Submitted by student on July 11, 2012

To start off If I I could give the school a zero I would. Although Oakton high seems to be the top rank school in Fairfax county it is way over rated. Oakton gets the high marks due to high AP testing results that have nothing or very little to do with teachers. My experience with teachers has been a average experience there are some good ones that I really liked and some ok ones and some horrible ones that I dont think should have jobs there. I ran across 3 horrible ones in 3 years. The reason for the high AP scores are from tutors that parents higher. I Knew people that had tutoring multiple days a week. I can only imagine that there were some people that had it 5 days or more. Oakton seems to be controlled by money in almost all areas. The people with money can pay for tutoring multiple days a week while the people with little money are left to fending for themselves. Some teachers stay after school regularly and that helps but generally there are multiple students there as well. Some teachers you will have to stay on them for just a little help. It is really hit or miss. I also ran across several cheaters at the school. The students are rich and dont care for anyone but them.