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Worcester County Public Schools

At a glance

1^stof 24 Maryland districts

Better than 95% of Maryland districts

Elementary 5 Middle 4 High 4 Alternative 1Grades PK, KG-12

6270 Worcester Highway
Newark, MD 21841·(410) 632-5000·All Maryland district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 95.8% of districts

Schools

7,002

Students

5-star schools

Top rankedStephen Decatur Middle4^th of 342 Maryland middle schools

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Biggest riser

Buckingham Elementary up 63 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Snow Hill Middle 9.5 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

5 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Maryland districts →See the top-ranked Maryland schools →

Summary:

The Worcester County Public Schools district in Maryland serves approximately 7,082 students across 13 schools, including elementary, middle, and high schools, and is ranked 1st out of 25 districts in the state with a 5-star rating.

The district's top performer is Stephen Decatur Middle, which ranks in the 99th percentile among Maryland middle schools and has earned a 5-star rating for three consecutive years. Ocean City Elementary is also a consistent high-achiever, ranking in the 91st percentile statewide. However, there are notable disparities. Pocomoke Elementary stands out as a paradox: despite serving a high-poverty population, it achieved the highest math proficiency in the district (85.7%) and the second-highest ELA proficiency (80%). Yet, this success does not carry over to Pocomoke Middle and Pocomoke High, which are the lowest-performing traditional schools in the district. Snow Hill High and Snow Hill Middle also struggle, consistently scoring below district averages. The Cedar Chapel Special School, an alternative school, has the highest chronic absenteeism rate (39.2%) and per-student spending ($82,310), reflecting its unique needs.

Key metrics show the district excels in ELA (69.9% proficiency) compared to the state (51.7%), but math is a district-wide weakness (48.8% proficiency). Chronic absenteeism averages 17.1%, with the highest rates at Cedar Chapel and Pocomoke Elementary. Notably, higher spending does not guarantee better results: Stephen Decatur High spends less per student ($19,242) but outperforms Snow Hill High ($30,738) and Pocomoke High ($29,411) in both math and ELA. This suggests that instructional quality and resource allocation are more critical than raw spending.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCAP Mathematics (2026)							MCAP English Language Arts (2026)								MCAP Algebra I (2026)	MCAP Science (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MCAP Mathematics All Grades	MCAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 10th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts All Grades	MCAP Algebra I End of Course	MCAP Science 5th Grade	MCAP Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Stephen Decatur Middle	Public	7-8	9815 Seahawk Rd	Berlin	21811	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 641-2846	665	52	12.7	48.9%	467 (70.2%)	55 (8.3%)	73 (11.0%)	9 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (9.2%)	97.3	4^th of 342 public middle schools	98.8%		95.7	9^th of 337 public middle schools	97.3%	5					58.6	65.1	64.7					84.7	81.8		83.1	100.0		58.5	$19,407	$1,814	$17,593
Worcester Technical High School	Public	9-12	6290 Worcester Hwy	Newark	21841	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 632-5050	0	26	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Berlin Intermediate	Public	5-6	309 Franklin Ave	Berlin	21811	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 632-5320	613	51	12.0	46.8%	436 (71.1%)	55 (9.0%)	70 (11.4%)	7 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (7.2%)								(n/a)			49.5	45.0			47.1			64.5	77.3				71.4		45.1		$20,885	$2,025	$18,859
Buckingham Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	100 Buckingham Rd	Berlin	21811	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 632-5300	518	44	11.9	48.5%	288 (55.6%)	123 (23.7%)	44 (8.5%)	6 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (10.8%)	88.7	98^th of 865 public elementary schools	88.7%		81.9	161^st of 865 public elementary schools	81.4%	63	71.1	72.5					71.8	67.1	66.3						66.7				$21,851	$3,009	$18,842
Cedar Chapel Special School	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	510 Coulbourne Ln	Snow Hill	21863	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 632-5230	51	13	3.9	76.5%	27 (52.9%)	15 (29.4%)	3 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (11.8%)								(n/a)																			$82,310	$4,666	$77,644
Ocean City Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	12828 Center Dr	Ocean City	21842	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 632-5370	566	48	11.7	37.8%	411 (72.6%)	21 (3.7%)	94 (16.6%)	10 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (5.3%)	91.6	75^th of 865 public elementary schools	91.3%		95.1	36^th of 865 public elementary schools	95.8%	39	86.5	57.8					70.2	78.4	70.7						74.0				$21,516	$2,210	$19,307
Pocomoke Elementary	Public	PK, KG-3	2119 Pocomoke Beltway	Pocomoke City	21851	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 632-5130	491	37	13.1	55.4%	183 (37.3%)	212 (43.2%)	30 (6.1%)	15 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (10.4%)								(n/a)	85.7						85.7	80.0							80.0				$21,759	$3,975	$17,784
Pocomoke Middle	Public	4-8	800 8th St	Pocomoke City	21851	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 632-5150	465	45	10.3	71.6%	183 (39.4%)	203 (43.7%)	34 (7.3%)	9 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (7.7%)	73.5	85^th of 342 public middle schools	75.1%		72.6	86^th of 337 public middle schools	74.5%	1		41.3	31.5	25.6	34.8	24.2	33.9		50.5	35.6	57.0	63.2	55.4		52.2	90.9	20.0	32.0	$22,286	$2,197	$20,089
Pocomoke High	Public	9-12	1817 Old Virginia Rd	Pocomoke City	21851	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 632-5180	374	33	11.3	67.1%	144 (38.5%)	174 (46.5%)	19 (5.1%)	8 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.8%)	48.7	75^th of 227 public high schools	67.0%		37.3	116^th of 220 public high schools	47.3%	41							19.2							63.0	63.0	19.2			$29,411	$2,721	$26,690
Snow Hill Elementary	Public	PK, KG-3	515 Coulbourne Ln	Snow Hill	21863	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 632-5210	387	30	12.8	44.4%	223 (57.6%)	94 (24.3%)	28 (7.2%)	7 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (9.0%)								(n/a)	74.2						74.2	62.9							62.9				$23,084	$3,532	$19,552
Snow Hill Middle	Public	4-8	522 Coulbourne Ln	Snow Hill	21863	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 632-5240	404	43	9.5	54.5%	239 (59.2%)	101 (25.0%)	31 (7.7%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.2%)	84.3	55^th of 342 public middle schools	83.9%		77.1	70^th of 337 public middle schools	79.2%	15		70.2	32.1	34.6	43.8	38.3	46.5		66.7	53.8	59.0	71.9	68.3		64.2	88.2	30.8	34.9	$25,293	$2,497	$22,795
Snow Hill High	Public	9-12	305 S Church St	Snow Hill	21863	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 632-5270	368	32	11.5	54.3%	196 (53.3%)	98 (26.6%)	30 (8.2%)	5 (1.4%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (10.1%)	58.4	50^th of 227 public high schools	78.0%		52.7	64^th of 220 public high schools	70.9%	14							25.9							70.9	70.9	25.9			$30,738	$2,953	$27,785
Stephen Decatur High	Public	10-12	9913 Seahawk Rd	Berlin	21811	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 641-2171	1,462	84	17.4	44.0%	1,046 (71.5%)	131 (9.0%)	143 (9.8%)	26 (1.8%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	114 (7.8%)	61.2	41^st of 227 public high schools	81.9%		61.1	38^th of 220 public high schools	82.7%	3							28.5							71.7	71.7	28.5			$19,242	$1,701	$17,540
Showell Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	11318 Showell School Rd	Berlin	21811	Worcester County	Worcester County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 632-5350	638	56	11.4	32.3%	534 (83.7%)	12 (1.9%)	44 (6.9%)	15 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (5.2%)	88.8	97^th of 865 public elementary schools	88.8%		90.4	87^th of 865 public elementary schools	89.9%	10	63.6	60.0					61.9	74.5	71.4						73.0				$20,550	$2,285	$18,265

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Wicomico County Public Schools	9.86 mi	25	16^th
Somerset County Public Schools	29.09 mi	8	23^rd
Dorchester County Public Schools	36.36 mi	13	21^st
Caroline County Public Schools	40.19 mi	10	15^th

See the top MD Maryland districts

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.