Cannon Road Elementary

Cannon Road Elementary is a K-5 school in Silver Spring, MD, serving 388 students within the highly-rated Montgomery County Public Schools district, where the majority of students (58.25%) come from low-income households.

This school presents a fascinating paradox: while its overall academic performance ranks in the bottom half of Maryland elementary schools, it is a standout in one critical area. Cannon Road is exceptionally effective at supporting its most economically disadvantaged students, ranking in the 97th percentile statewide for this subgroup and earning a perfect 5-star rating. This means the school is highly successful at closing the achievement gap for its most vulnerable learners. The school also invests heavily in its students, spending $27,409 per student—the highest among nearby schools and 32% more than the average of its peers—and maintains a very low student-teacher ratio of 9.9, the lowest in the comparison group. However, these resources don't translate into top overall test scores. For example, Westover Elementary, with lower spending and a lower poverty rate, achieves significantly higher proficiency rates. A sharp contrast is also seen with its nearest neighbor, William Tyler Page Elementary, which has nearly double the math proficiency despite being just 0.7 miles away.

Key challenges include a significant drop in math proficiency between 3rd and 4th grade, and very low science scores, with only 14.3% of 5th graders proficient compared to the district average of 40.1%. Chronic absenteeism, while improving, remains a concern at 21.1%. In short, Cannon Road is a school that excels at supporting its low-income students but faces clear hurdles in overall academic achievement, particularly in math and science as students get older.