Best Public Schools in Cascade, MD

Summary:

The city of Cascade, Maryland has only one public school, Cascade Elementary, which serves grades PK-5 and is part of the Washington County Public Schools district. While Cascade Elementary has some positive metrics, such as higher-than-average test scores in certain grade levels and subjects compared to the district and state, it also faces some challenges, including a high chronic absenteeism rate and relatively low test scores in other areas.

Cascade Elementary's performance has been mixed in recent years, with the school ranking 486 out of 865 Maryland elementary schools in the 2024-2025 school year and 354 out of 859 in the 2023-2024 school year, both with a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's chronic absenteeism rate of 26.9% in the 2023-2024 school year is significantly higher than the state average, which may be impacting student performance. Additionally, Cascade Elementary's proficiency rates in MCAP/Mathematics, MCAP/English Language Arts, and MCAP/Science have been inconsistent, with some grade levels performing better than the district and state, while others perform significantly worse.

Despite the higher-than-average spending per student ($19,965 in the 2023-2024 school year) and a student-teacher ratio of 17.7, Cascade Elementary is not performing as well as the district and state averages in many areas. This suggests that simply having more resources may not be the sole factor in improving student outcomes, and the school may need to implement targeted strategies and interventions to address the specific challenges it faces, such as the high chronic absenteeism rate and inconsistent academic performance.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCAP Mathematics (2025)				MCAP English Language Arts (2025)				MCAP Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAP Mathematics All Grades	MCAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts All Grades	MCAP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Cascade Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	14519 Pennersville Rd	Cascade	21719	Washington County	Washington County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 766-8066	137	7	19.2	60.6%	108 (78.8%)	3 (2.2%)	12 (8.8%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	12 (8.8%)	39.5	486^th of 865 public elementary schools	43.8%		52.8	354^th of 859 public elementary schools	58.8%	132	30.0	45.8	20.0	32.8	25.0	45.8	35.0	35.9	15.8	$19,965	$1,232	$18,733

Cities Near Cascade

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Sabillasville	2.83 mi	1	155^th
Smithsburg	5.43 mi	3	72^nd
Thurmont	6.62 mi	5	165^th
Hagerstown	7.54 mi	25	148^th
Emmitsburg	8.74 mi	1	78^th

See the top MD Maryland cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maryland State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.