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Harford County Public Schools


At a glance
11thof 24 Maryland districts▼ 1
Better than 54% of Maryland districts
102 South Hickory Avenue
Bel Air, MD 21014
·(410) 838-7300·All Maryland district rankings →
Statewide performance 2018–2026
2026: better than 54.2% of districts
55
Schools
37,771
Students
5
5-star schools
Top rankedChurchville Elementary56th of 865 Maryland elementary schools
Biggest riser
Forest Hill Elementary up 82 spots statewide this year
Smallest classes
Center for Educational Opportunity 6.5 students per teacher
SchoolDigger ratings
5★
4★
3★
2★
1★
2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)
Summary:

The Harford County Public Schools district serves 55 schools in Maryland, including 33 elementary, 9 middle, 11 high, and 2 alternative schools, and is ranked 11th out of 25 districts in the state with a 3-star rating.

Several schools stand out for exceptional performance. Harford Technical High leads all high schools with the highest English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency (85%) and the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (7.5%), while Bel Air Elementary boasts the district's highest math proficiency (62.9%) and lowest chronic absenteeism (6.2%). Fallston Middle School is the top-ranked middle school with 41.8% math and 81.9% ELA proficiency. In contrast, Center for Educational Opportunity faces severe challenges with a 72.5% chronic absenteeism rate, 51.2% dropout rate, and only 2% math proficiency. Joppatowne High has the lowest high school math proficiency (3.4%) and second-highest absenteeism (40.1%), while Magnolia Elementary has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (88.07%) and correspondingly low scores.

Key district-wide metrics reveal a strong correlation between chronic absenteeism and academic performance, with rates ranging from 6.2% to 72.5%. The district's ELA proficiency (61.1%) significantly exceeds the state average (51.7%), but math proficiency (28.4%) is only slightly above the state average (27.1%). A critical finding is that high school math proficiency is a major weakness, with every high school scoring 0% proficiency in Geometry for the 2025-2026 school year. The district's graduation rate averages 91.9%, ranging from 42.3% at the alternative school to 94.9% at Patterson Mill High School. Per-student spending varies widely from $14,192 to $42,650, with higher spending often in smaller or alternative schools.

AllElementaryMiddleHighAlternative
Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




Districts nearby

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maryland State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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