Best Middle Schools in Fulton, MD

Fulton, Maryland is home to a single middle school, Lime Kiln Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 and is part of the highly-rated Howard County Public Schools district.

Lime Kiln Middle School is an academic powerhouse, consistently ranking in the 95th-96th percentile statewide over the last three years and earning a 5-star rating each year. With an enrollment of 675 students and a student-teacher ratio of 15.6:1, the school demonstrates exceptional performance across the board. Overall proficiency rates are well above district and state averages, with 83.7% of students proficient in English Language Arts and 58.5% in mathematics. The school also excels in advanced coursework, with 100% of students taking the Algebra II End-of-Course exam achieving proficiency and 85.3% proficient in Geometry. Chronic absenteeism is notably low at 8.1%, less than half the district average of 17.4%, indicating strong student engagement and a positive school climate.

A key insight is the "math cliff" in 8th grade, where only 14.3% of students are proficient in standard 8th-grade math. This is not a sign of poor instruction but rather reflects that the highest-performing students are taking high school-level math courses like Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II, where they achieve stellar results. In contrast, English Language Arts proficiency is consistently high across all grades, ranging from 80.9% to 87.2%, suggesting a school-wide culture of strong literacy instruction. With per-student spending of $17,144 and only 8.59% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, Lime Kiln Middle School is a well-resourced institution that delivers top-tier academic outcomes for its students.