Best High Schools in Jessup, MD

Jessup, Maryland, is home to a single high school, Guilford Park High, which serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the highly-ranked Howard County Public Schools district.

Guilford Park High presents a complex picture with significant challenges. The school has a 2-star rating and ranks 135th out of 227 high schools in Maryland. Its most critical issues are a very low graduation rate of 16.6% and an extremely high dropout rate of 41.6%, both of which are dramatic outliers compared to the district averages of 91.3% and 4.9%, respectively. Chronic absenteeism is also a major concern at 29.1%, nearly double the district rate. Academically, the school shows a stark contrast between subjects: while English Language Arts proficiency (53.8%) is slightly above the state average, math proficiency is critically low at just 10.8%, far below the district average of 42.1%. The school serves a student body where 45.16% qualify for free or reduced lunch, and it spends a substantial $21,328 per student.

The data suggests a "pipeline" problem where high chronic absenteeism likely contributes to low math proficiency, which in turn feeds into the staggering dropout rate. Despite being in one of Maryland's top districts, Guilford Park High is a dramatic outlier, indicating it may serve a uniquely challenged population or face specific systemic issues. The high per-student spending paired with low outcomes raises important questions about resource allocation and the effectiveness of current support systems for students.