Best Public Schools in Ellicott City, MD

The 21 public schools in Ellicott City, Maryland, part of the highly-rated Howard County Public Schools district, serve students from elementary through high school and consistently outperform state averages, making the area a top choice for families.

Standout schools in Ellicott City are led by exceptional elementary and middle schools. Worthington Elementary and Triadelphia Ridge Elementary are the top-performing elementary schools, both earning 5-star ratings with very low chronic absenteeism and high test scores. For middle school, Folly Quarter Middle is the clear leader, ranking in the 98th-99th percentile and achieving exceptional proficiency in advanced math courses like Algebra I and Geometry. Centennial High is the highest-ranked high school, boasting the strongest English and math scores among standard high schools, while Howard High and Mount Hebron High are nearly identical in performance, both offering a very high-quality education with graduation rates above 93%. A notable outlier is Homewood School, which serves a specialized population and has very different metrics, including high per-student spending and a low student-teacher ratio.

Key metrics reveal a strong correlation between socioeconomic status and performance, with top 5-star schools having the lowest rates of students receiving free or reduced lunch. The city's middle schools are a powerhouse for advanced math, creating a strong pipeline to high school. While elementary and middle schools have impressively low chronic absenteeism, this rate jumps significantly in high school, suggesting that engagement and attendance are key areas for improvement in an otherwise stellar school system.