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Atholton Elementary

Q: Is Atholton Elementary a good school?

Atholton Elementary ranks 169 th of 865 Maryland elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

169^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 865 Maryland Elementary Schools

Better than 80% of Maryland elementary schools

Summary

Atholton Elementary is a public elementary school in Columbia, Maryland, serving 520 students in grades PK-5. It is part of the Howard County Public Schools district, which is ranked 4 out of 25 in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Atholton Elementary consistently ranks among the top 20% of Maryland elementary schools, with strong academic performance in both Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA). In the 2024-2025 school year, 50.4% of Atholton students were proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to 42% for the district and 26.5% for the state. The school's ELA proficiency rates are also impressive, with 66.3% of students proficient or better, compared to 65.2% for the district and 50.8% for the state. Atholton's performance is particularly strong in 3rd and 4th grade Mathematics and ELA, where it outperforms the district and state by a wider margin.

Atholton Elementary has a relatively low percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (17.31% in 2023-2024), which is significantly lower than the nearby schools like Stevens Forest Elementary (58.23%) and Cradlerock Elementary (53.33%). The school also spends more per student ($17,575 in 2023-2024) compared to the district average, which may contribute to its strong academic performance. However, the school may benefit from addressing its chronic absenteeism rates and exploring ways to improve its 5th-grade Science proficiency.

516

Students ?

14.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$17,575

Per pupil spending ?

15.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

6700 Seneca Dr
Columbia, MD 21046-1130

(410) 313-6853

District: Howard County Public Schools

Students who attend Atholton Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Hammond Middle
High:	Hammond High

Racial breakdown:

White:

49.6%

African American:

21.1%

Hispanic:

12.4%

See top rated Maryland elementary schools

Compare Atholton Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 85th percentile in 2015 → 80th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Maryland average (56% vs 38% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 20% of Maryland elementary schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 5 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school56%

District avg52%

Maryland avg38%

169^th of 865

Maryland public elementary schools ?

Top 20%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From top 15% (2015) to top 20% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Maryland Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

21^st of 42Elementary Schools in the Howard County Public Schools

4^th of 25Howard County Public Schools among Maryland districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2025	81.1	169 of 865	80.5%	★★★★☆
2024	82.7	146 of 859	83.0%	★★★★☆
2023	78.7	173 of 855	79.8%	★★★★☆
2022	79.5	174 of 862	79.8%	★★★★☆
2021	76.1	142 of 802	82.3%	★★★★☆
2019	82.0	148 of 853	82.6%	★★★★☆
2018	75.3	207 of 857	75.8%	★★★★☆
2017	83.6	150 of 847	82.3%	★★★★☆
2016	90.7	77 of 845	90.9%	★★★★★
2015	84.9	129 of 859	85.0%	★★★★☆
2014	81.2	135 of 867	84.4%	★★★★☆
2013	78.5	142 of 847	83.2%	★★★★☆
2012	60.2	398 of 857	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	77.3	149 of 853	82.5%	★★★★☆
2010	73.6	220 of 855	74.3%	★★★★☆
2009	73.3	234 of 850	72.5%	★★★★☆
2008	62.6	348 of 838	58.5%	★★★☆☆
2007	27.7	640 of 818	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	22.6	661 of 804	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	26.1	629 of 805	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	20.1	668 of 803	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	73.7	54 of 504	89.3%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	65.7	174 of 796	78.1%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	79.0	117 of 788	85.2%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	71.3	135 of 528	74.4%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2021)89th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2021)85th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2021)78th percentile-4 vs school

White (2021)74th percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs Maryland (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts66%+16 vs state

Mathematics50%+24 vs state

Science40%+15 vs state

★

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Schools Near Atholton Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCAP Mathematics (2025)				MCAP English Language Arts (2025)				MCAP Science (2025)	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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 5th 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 All Grades	MCAP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Atholton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6700 Seneca Dr	Columbia	21046	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-6853	516	35	14.7	15.9%	256 (49.6%)	109 (21.1%)	64 (12.4%)	34 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	52 (10.1%)	81.1	169^th of 865 public elementary schools	80.5%		82.7	146^th of 859 public elementary schools	83.0%	23	54.5	49.4	46.4	50.4	69.3	68.3	60.7	66.3	40.5	$17,575	$823	$16,752
Clemens Crossing Elementary	Public	K-5	10320 Quarterstaff Rd	Columbia	21044	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-6866	481	34	14.0	23.7%	199 (41.4%)	118 (24.5%)	57 (11.9%)	50 (10.4%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	54 (11.2%)	80.1	180^th of 865 public elementary schools	79.2%		87.1	101^st of 859 public elementary schools	88.2%	79	64.8	60.5	45.7	56.7	69.6	61.6	50.6	60.2	37.0	$19,838	$838	$19,000
Cradlerock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6700 Cradlerock Way	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 319-7601	453	44	10.3	55.6%	81 (17.9%)	218 (48.1%)	95 (21.0%)	17 (3.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (9.1%)	34.8	516^th of 865 public elementary schools	40.3%		37.4	465^th of 859 public elementary schools	45.9%	51	24.4	18.3	16.7	20.0	38.6	45.6	37.5	40.4	23.9	$23,814	$1,624	$22,190
Stevens Forest Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6045 Stevens Forest Rd	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 313-6900	314	33	9.5	59.2%	58 (18.5%)	124 (39.5%)	79 (25.2%)	22 (7.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (9.6%)	64.4	297^th of 865 public elementary schools	65.7%		67.3	257^th of 859 public elementary schools	70.1%	40	46.9	40.0	31.9	39.7	51.0	64.6	51.1	55.6	31.3	$26,356	$1,845	$24,511
Guilford Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	7335 Oakland Mills Rd	Columbia	21046	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 880-5930	437	37	11.9	46.5%	57 (13.0%)	214 (49.0%)	89 (20.4%)	52 (11.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.7%)	45.1	450^th of 865 public elementary schools	48.0%		43.3	435^th of 859 public elementary schools	49.4%	15	29.2	24.1	22.7	25.2	41.7	47.5	48.0	45.8	28.9	$21,939	$1,483	$20,457
Talbott Springs Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	9550 Basket Ring Rd	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 313-6915	461	46	10.0	45.3%	105 (22.8%)	147 (31.9%)	135 (29.3%)	23 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	49 (10.6%)	51.3	395^th of 865 public elementary schools	54.3%		51.6	364^th of 859 public elementary schools	57.6%	31	43.8	31.3	25.8	33.5	52.3	54.4	41.3	49.5	19.7	$24,018	$1,692	$22,326
Jeffers Hill Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6001 Tamar Dr	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-6872	406	35	11.5	44.1%	86 (21.2%)	162 (39.9%)	83 (20.4%)	34 (8.4%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (9.6%)	59.2	342^nd of 865 public elementary schools	60.5%		53.5	343^rd of 859 public elementary schools	60.1%	1	34.7	37.9	34.7	35.7	50.0	43.3	57.4	50.2	38.8	$23,156	$997	$22,159
Bryant Woods Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5450 Blue Heron Ln	Columbia	21044	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 313-6859	366	36	10.2	51.1%	78 (21.3%)	180 (49.2%)	53 (14.5%)	28 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (7.4%)	42.9	466^th of 865 public elementary schools	46.1%		44.3	426^th of 859 public elementary schools	50.4%	40	39.7	27.4	18.6	28.4	46.6	32.9	50.9	42.6	22.4	$25,646	$1,697	$23,949
Swansfield Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5610 Cedar Ln	Columbia	21044	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 313-6907	594	52	11.4	38.2%	167 (28.1%)	233 (39.2%)	75 (12.6%)	67 (11.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	51 (8.6%)	65.8	285^th of 865 public elementary schools	67.1%		53	353^rd of 859 public elementary schools	58.9%	68	56.6	39.1	36.8	45.3	61.1	62.1	42.5	55.7	23.3	$20,540	$1,637	$18,903
Hammond Elementary	Public	K-5	8110 Aladdin Dr	Laurel	20723	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 880-5890	763	48	15.8	18.6%	300 (39.3%)	190 (24.9%)	76 (10.0%)	132 (17.3%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	62 (8.1%)	82.6	156^th of 865 public elementary schools	82.0%		80.2	165^th of 859 public elementary schools	80.8%	9	54.8	51.4	49.2	51.8	67.2	65.4	65.1	65.9	43.4	$16,153	$795	$15,358

Frequently Asked Questions about Atholton Elementary

What schools do graduates of Atholton Elementary attend?

Students who attend Atholton Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Hammond Middle
High : Hammond High

What is the racial makeup of Atholton Elementary?

Students at Atholton Elementary are 50% White, 21% African American, 12% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 7% Asian.

What district is Atholton Elementary in?

Howard County Public Schools

Is Atholton Elementary a good school?

Atholton Elementary ranks 169^th of 865 Maryland elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Atholton Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 516 students attended Atholton Elementary.

Rate Atholton Elementary!

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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.