Summary:
The five high schools in Cecil County Public Schools serve approximately 4,630 students across grades 9-12 in a Maryland district ranked 17th out of 25 in the state, revealing a mix of standout performers and systemic challenges that parents should know.
Rising Sun High is the district's clear academic leader, earning a 4-star rating and the highest state rank (68th of 227) with exceptional English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency at 69.2%—far above the district average of 46.9%. It also boasts the highest graduation rate (92.0%) and lowest dropout rate (6.1%) among the five schools, despite having the lowest per-student spending ($16,508). In contrast, Perryville High was once the district's top performer but has declined from a 4-star to a 3-star rating, though it still maintains strong ELA scores (68.4%) and a high graduation rate (89.3%). Bohemia Manor High, the smallest school with 591 students, excels in efficiency with the lowest student-to-teacher ratio (13.5:1) and highest per-student spending ($20,396), leading to the best graduation rate (93.4%) and lowest dropout rate (4.7%).
The most striking finding is the extreme gap between ELA and math proficiency: while all five schools exceed the district ELA average, math scores are catastrophically low, with the highest (Rising Sun at 6.8%) being less than one-third of the state average (27.1%). Elkton High faces the most pressure, with the highest economic disadvantage rate (55.24%), lowest math proficiency (1.1%), lowest graduation rate (81.2%), and highest dropout rate (14.4%). Chronic absenteeism is a district-wide problem, with all schools exceeding the 21.9% average, led by North East High at 30.7%. This data suggests that school culture and community factors may matter more than spending alone, and that math instruction needs urgent, systemic attention across the district.
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