Elementary Schools in Howard County Public Schools

This analysis examines 42 elementary schools within the Howard County Public Schools district in Maryland, serving grades K-5 in a highly-ranked suburban area. The district is a top performer statewide, but the data reveals a wide range of experiences across its schools, from elite institutions to those facing significant challenges.

Standout schools include Pointers Run Elementary, the highest-ranked school in the dataset (15th in Maryland), with exceptional test scores (80.3% Math, 80.5% ELA) and very low chronic absenteeism (8.0%). Worthington Elementary and Triadelphia Ridge Elementary are also elite performers, ranking 17th and 20th in the state respectively. At the other end, Running Brook Elementary faces the most severe challenges with the highest chronic absenteeism (31.0%) and very low test scores (22.1% Math, 40.1% ELA). Cradlerock Elementary has the lowest Math proficiency (21.5%) and the second-highest absenteeism (27.5%). Notably, Bollman Bridge Elementary showed the most dramatic improvement, jumping from a rank of 540 to 449 in one year.

Key metrics show a strong link between socioeconomic factors and performance: schools with the lowest free/reduced lunch rates, like Triadelphia Ridge (7.27%) and Pointers Run (8.5%), achieve the highest scores, while those with the highest rates, such as Ducketts Lane (60.56%), struggle. Chronic absenteeism is a critical challenge for lower-performing schools, and higher per-student spending (e.g., Running Brook at $26,760) does not guarantee higher performance, often reflecting the need for more resources to address complex challenges. Math proficiency is a district-wide area of relative weakness, with the average at 42.1% compared to 65.9% in ELA.