Severn Run High School

Severn Run High School in Severn, MD, is a public school serving 1,608 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools district, and it presents a unique profile with strong English Language Arts (ELA) performance but significant challenges in math and student attendance.

Severn Run stands out for its exceptional ELA proficiency rate of 61.9%, which is well above the district average of 55.9% and the state average of 51.7%, outperforming nearby schools like Glen Burnie High (50.9%) and Old Mill High (52.6%). However, this strength is sharply contrasted by a math proficiency rate of just 9%, which is less than one-third of the district average (29.3%) and state average (27.1%). This creates a massive 52.9 percentage point gap between ELA and math scores, the largest among comparable schools in the area. While many nearby schools also struggle with math—such as North County High at 4% and Old Mill at 4.3%—Severn Run's math score remains notably poor, especially given its strong ELA results.

Despite its high ELA scores, Severn Run has a graduation rate of 85.4%, which is below the district average of 88.9%, and a chronic absenteeism rate of 27.5%, significantly higher than the district average of 19.9%. For context, Northeast High has a similar ELA score (63.3%) but a much higher graduation rate (94.5%) and lower absenteeism (26.2%). This suggests that factors beyond reading proficiency—such as math instruction and student engagement—are impacting overall success. The school's 3-star rating and state ranking of 94th out of 227 high schools reflect a solidly average performance, but the combination of low math scores, below-average graduation rates, and high absenteeism indicates that Severn Run is not holistically serving all its students, despite its notable strength in English.