Summary:
Derwood, Maryland, is home to a single school, Sequoyah Elementary, which serves grades Kindergarten through 5th grade with 460 students as part of the Montgomery County Public Schools district.
Sequoyah Elementary stands out as a "math school," with 41.5% of students proficient in mathematics, significantly outperforming both the district (36.9%) and state (27.1%) averages. However, this strength does not carry over to English Language Arts (ELA), where only 48.8% of students are proficient, lagging behind the district (58.5%) and state (51.7%). The school also shows a sharp drop in ELA performance between 4th and 5th grade, with proficiency falling from 53.7% to 38.9%. Science scores are volatile, with 5th graders achieving 40.3% proficiency in 2024-2025 (beating district and state averages) but dropping to 33.3% the following year. The school's state ranking has declined from the 66th to the 61st percentile over three years, despite its strong math performance.
Key metrics include a low student-teacher ratio of 10.6:1 and high per-student spending of $24,556, which is well above national averages. Chronic absenteeism affects 21.1% of students, slightly better than the district's 22.6%, and 46.74% of students are economically disadvantaged. The high spending and low class sizes have not yet translated into top-tier overall academic performance, particularly in ELA, raising questions about resource allocation. For parents, Sequoyah Elementary offers a strong math program and personalized attention, but the school's declining rank and inconsistent ELA and science scores suggest areas for improvement.
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