Best Public Schools in Sandy Spring, MD

The two public schools in Sandy Spring, Maryland—Sherwood High School and Sherwood Elementary School—serve students from kindergarten through 12th grade within the highly rated Montgomery County Public Schools district, offering a mix of standout strengths and notable challenges for families.

Sherwood High School is the area's standout institution, ranking in the top 12% of Maryland high schools with a 4-star rating. It excels in English Language Arts, where 79.3% of students are proficient—far above the district average of 58.5%—and boasts a strong 93.7% graduation rate. However, the school faces a dramatic "math gap": only 10.3% of students are proficient in math, well below the district (36.9%) and state (27.1%) averages. This is puzzling because Sherwood Elementary School sends students well-prepared in math, with 52% proficiency, outperforming both district and state averages. The elementary school also has a lower student-teacher ratio (12.1:1) and higher per-student spending ($21,435) compared to the high school (16.3:1 and $20,093), suggesting the high school's math struggles may stem from curriculum or instructional issues rather than resources.

Chronic absenteeism is a shared concern, with rates near the district average of 22.6%—24.1% at the high school and 21.2% at the elementary school. This affects both schools' overall performance. For parents, the key takeaway is that Sherwood Elementary provides a strong foundation across subjects, while Sherwood High School offers exceptional ELA and graduation outcomes but requires targeted support in math. The district faces the unique challenge of replicating the elementary school's math success at the high school level while maintaining its other strengths.