That's the unfortunate label slapped on T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, where my son attends school. Needless to say, it has the community buzzing. And even though about 20 other DC-area schools were similarly "honored," our notoriety (Remember the Titans, etc.) got us on the front page of the Post's Metro section.

Standardized tests did not improve for two straight years, and TC's graduation rate of 78% is below the state average of 83%. We could come up with all sorts of reasons why, but one of the things that stings the most is that the scores were in the lowest 5% of 128 schools in Virginia with similar demographics. Ouch.

Are students underserved--or underperforming? Where does the line get drawn between the school and the home/peer environment? What can teachers do, even with "additional resources"?

I don't have the answers, surely, and felt compelled to defend the school when it was being dissed in my exercise class this morning. (Persistently lowest achieving, that is an awful characterization.)