Frederick High

Frederick High in Frederick, MD, is a large public high school serving 1,821 students in grades 9-12 within the Frederick County Public Schools district, a high-performing district ranked 5th in Maryland, though the school itself faces significant challenges tied to high levels of economic disadvantage, with nearly 60% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch.

Academically, Frederick High presents a mixed picture. While English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency is a relative strength at 50.9%—matching the state average—mathematics proficiency is a major concern, with only 25.4% of students meeting standards in 2025-2026. This is dramatically lower than nearby schools like Urbana High (64.3%) and Oakdale High (44.1%). However, there is a positive trend: math proficiency has risen sharply from a low of 7.2% in 2023-2024, suggesting recovery efforts are underway. An interesting anomaly is Algebra II, where 47.1% of Frederick High students were proficient in 2024-2025, outperforming the district average of 32.2% and nearly doubling the state average, indicating strong instruction for students who reach that level.

The school also struggles with high chronic absenteeism (27.5%) and a low graduation rate (88.4%), both significantly worse than district averages (16.7% and 94.0%, respectively). Its dropout rate of 7.7% is more than double the district's 3.4%. Compared to its nearest neighbor, Gov. Thomas Johnson High, which serves a similarly disadvantaged population, Frederick High outperforms it in nearly every metric, including higher math and ELA proficiency, a higher graduation rate, and a lower dropout rate. This suggests that despite shared challenges, Frederick High may be implementing more effective strategies than its closest comparable school.