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Whetstone Elementary

Q: Is Whetstone Elementary a good school?

Whetstone Elementary ranks 572 nd of 864 Maryland elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

572^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 864 Maryland Elementary Schools

Better than 34% of Maryland elementary schools

Summary

Whetstone Elementary in Gaithersburg, MD, is a mid-sized school serving 711 students in grades PK-5 within the Montgomery County Public Schools district, located in an area where a high proportion of students come from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Whetstone shows a unique academic pattern: it starts strong in 3rd-grade Math, with 40.5% proficiency in 2025-2026—nearly matching the district average and outperforming nearby Stedwick Elementary (26.9%) and Watkins Mill Elementary (24%). However, this performance drops sharply in 4th and 5th grade, falling to 19% and 18.2% respectively. This "3rd-grade peak" followed by a steep decline is distinctive among its neighbors—for comparison, Goshen Elementary also sees a drop, but from a much higher 3rd-grade base (60.9%) to a still-respectable 27.5% in 5th grade. The school also struggles with chronic absenteeism, which was 23.9% in 2024-2025, above the district average of 22.6%, and has been persistently high in recent years. Science performance is notably low, with only 12.7% of 5th graders proficient in 2025-2026, compared to the district average of 40.1% and nearby Strawberry Knoll Elementary (30.4%).

Despite high per-student spending of $21,437 in 2023-2024—more than high-performing Fox Chapel Elementary ($19,834) and Goshen ($20,770)—Whetstone's overall academic performance remains in the bottom half of Maryland elementary schools, ranking at the 34th percentile. This suggests that resources alone haven't translated into gains. Interestingly, nearby schools with similar poverty rates achieve very different outcomes: Fox Chapel (75th percentile) and Goshen (60th percentile) perform significantly better, while Whetstone is grouped with lower-performing peers like Harriet R. Tubman Elementary (33rd percentile) and Watkins Mill (18th percentile). This variation indicates that effective school practices can overcome challenges, and Whetstone's strong early-grade instruction may be a foundation to build upon.

711

Students ?

12.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,437

Per pupil spending ?

56.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

19201 Thomas Farm Rd
Gaithersburg, MD 20879-2018

(240) 740-1060

District: Montgomery County Public Schools

Students who attend Whetstone Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Montgomery Village Middle
High:	Watkins Mill High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

57.1%

African American:

25.7%

Asian:

7.9%

See top rated Maryland elementary schools

Compare Whetstone Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 22nd percentile in 2021 → 34th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 34th (2026) from a 22nd-percentile low (2021)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Maryland average (28% vs 39% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Science scores 20 pts below the Maryland average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school28%

District avg48%

Maryland avg39%

572^nd of 864

Maryland public elementary schools ?

Bottom 34%▼ down 12 pts since 2016

From bottom 46% (2016) to bottom 34% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Maryland Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

111^th of 132Elementary Schools in the Montgomery County Public Schools

8^th of 25Montgomery 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
2026	30.7	572 of 864	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	28.5	568 of 865	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.8	548 of 859	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	20.5	651 of 855	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	32.9	544 of 862	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	20.1	625 of 802	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.9	540 of 853	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	24.1	623 of 857	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	35.4	513 of 847	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2016	41.8	460 of 845	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2015	27.6	600 of 859	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2014	30.6	670 of 867	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	27.2	675 of 847	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	44.3	546 of 857	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2011	29.6	661 of 853	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	50.9	488 of 855	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2009	48.1	509 of 850	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2008	53.7	439 of 838	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2007	60.6	356 of 818	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2006	53.1	417 of 804	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2005	52.0	427 of 805	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2004	58.8	396 of 803	50.7%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	43.2	237 of 504	53.0%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	20.0	112 of 115	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	16.6	694 of 796	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	26.1	282 of 347	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	23.9	493 of 546	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	23.2	571 of 788	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆

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)53rd percentile+31 vs school

Male (2021)28th percentile+5 vs school

Hispanic (2021)19th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2021)13th percentile-9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2021)10th percentile-12 vs school

English Language Learner (2021)3rd percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs Maryland (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts36%-16 vs state

Mathematics26%~ state avg

Science13%-20 vs state

3.8

4 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★2

4★1

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, October 3, 2018

When a child (A KINDERGARTNER) gets kicked in the face and loses two front teeth and they can't get their story together. THERE IS A PROBLEM. Where is the supervision??? Whether it was an accident or not. Apparently they were ruff housing around??(when is ruff housing permitted at school?) Then they say the aid that was suppose to be there when the incident occurred is gone for the day. If they had adequate adult supervision,LIKE ALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS USUALLY HAVE, then it might not have occurred. So now my son is going to be facing issues with his self esteem and who knows what else because this school can't control their students behavior during "lunch/recess.". My son also has speech problems and now no front teeth to practice saying hard syllables. In which the vice principle responded "I didn't talk until I was 7." No offense but do I really care what you did as a child. My son isn't you. I can't wait to move and take my son out of this school.NO SUPERVISION IS REQUIRED AT THIS SCHOOL APPARENTLY, and I truly feel like they blew off taking responsibility for THEIR negligence. Close Quote

by a parent on FaceBook
Saturday, May 10, 2014

Whetstone Elementary is a great school. This year 2014 third grade has excellent teachers. Close Quote

Schools Near Whetstone Elementary

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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 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	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 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
Whetstone Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	19201 Thomas Farm Rd	Gaithersburg	20879	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(240) 740-1060	711	58	12.3	56.3%	42 (5.9%)	183 (25.7%)	406 (57.1%)	56 (7.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (3.1%)	30.7	572^nd of 864 public elementary schools	33.8%		28.5	568^th of 865 public elementary schools	34.3%	4	40.5	19.0	18.2	26.0	47.9	28.1	30.0	35.5	12.7	$21,437	$2,848	$18,589
Stedwick Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	10631 Stedwick Rd	Montgomery Village	20886	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(240) 740-7190	492	42	11.7	59.6%	30 (6.1%)	153 (31.1%)	254 (51.6%)	32 (6.5%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	20 (4.1%)	25.9	619^th of 864 public elementary schools	28.4%		26.1	597^th of 865 public elementary schools	31.0%	22	26.9	25.8	15.4	22.3	28.8	37.9	28.2	31.4	16.5	$23,627	$2,445	$21,182
Watkins Mill Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	19001 Watkins Mill Rd	Montgomery Village	20886	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(240) 740-5280	734	65	11.2	60.1%	20 (2.7%)	100 (13.6%)	550 (74.9%)	45 (6.1%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (2.2%)	18.5	705^th of 864 public elementary schools	18.4%		15.8	744^th of 865 public elementary schools	14.0%	39	24.0	7.8	15.6	15.5	33.7	17.5	29.6	26.6	13.3	$22,893	$2,871	$20,022
Strawberry Knoll Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	18820 Strawberry Knoll Rd	Gaithersburg	20879	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(240) 740-5140	448	42	10.7	57.8%	54 (12.1%)	105 (23.4%)	219 (48.9%)	47 (10.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (4.9%)	52.6	389^th of 864 public elementary schools	55.0%		48.5	417^th of 865 public elementary schools	51.8%	28	49.1	27.4	25.5	33.9	57.9	45.2	47.3	50.0	30.4	$26,558	$1,577	$24,981
South Lake Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	18201 Contour Road	Gaithersburg	20877	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(240) 740-7330	746	62	12.0	66.1%	10 (1.3%)	129 (17.3%)	557 (74.7%)	32 (4.3%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	15 (2.0%)	14.7	757^th of 864 public elementary schools	12.4%		15.3	750^th of 865 public elementary schools	13.3%	7	15.9	15.7	12.1	14.7	16.1	22.6	28.4	22.0	8.1	$21,305	$2,781	$18,524
Flower Hill Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	18425 Flower Hill Way	Gaithersburg	20879	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(240) 740-5820	454	40	11.4	54.8%	34 (7.5%)	93 (20.5%)	264 (58.1%)	46 (10.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.7%)	35.6	521^st of 864 public elementary schools	39.7%		22.2	660^th of 865 public elementary schools	23.7%	139	32.9	26.3	16.9	25.7	48.7	45.3	33.8	43.0	9.9	$23,378	$2,361	$21,017
Goshen Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	8701 Warfield Rd	Gaithersburg	20882	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(240) 740-6170	494	37	13.4	55.9%	50 (10.1%)	120 (24.3%)	260 (52.6%)	44 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (3.8%)	57.8	345^th of 864 public elementary schools	60.1%		53.1	384^th of 865 public elementary schools	55.6%	39	60.9	28.6	27.5	37.3	68.1	42.9	45.1	51.0	35.6	$20,770	$986	$19,784
Harriet R. Tubman Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	400 Victory Farm Dr	Gaithersburg	20877	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(240) 740-6770	571	51	11.2	61.6%	25 (4.4%)	109 (19.1%)	391 (68.5%)	24 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (3.7%)	29.3	583^rd of 864 public elementary schools	32.5%		23.8	632^nd of 865 public elementary schools	26.9%	49	30.2	23.5	16.9	23.9	38.8	36.7	30.3	35.5	18.0	$21,951	$2,144	$19,806
Gaithersburg Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	35 N Summit Ave	Gaithersburg	20877	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(240) 740-4900	603	63	9.6	67.5%	10 (1.7%)	95 (15.8%)	456 (75.6%)	18 (3.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (3.6%)	12.9	786^th of 864 public elementary schools	9.0%		13.2	791^st of 865 public elementary schools	8.6%	5	19.5	8.9	11.5	13.1	15.9	17.6	22.9	19.0	9.3	$25,304	$2,866	$22,438
Captain James E. Daly Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	20301 Brandermill Dr	Germantown	20876	Montgomery County	Montgomery County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(240) 740-0600	472	42	11.2	57.6%	26 (5.5%)	132 (28.0%)	272 (57.6%)	25 (5.3%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.0%)	25.9	618^th of 864 public elementary schools	28.5%		28.1	573^rd of 865 public elementary schools	33.8%	45	37.5	17.2	16.9	23.6	35.9	29.7	26.8	30.7	15.5	$23,824	$3,901	$19,922

Frequently Asked Questions about Whetstone Elementary

Is Whetstone Elementary a good school?

Whetstone Elementary ranks 572^nd of 864 Maryland elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Whetstone Elementary?

Students at Whetstone Elementary are 57% Hispanic, 26% African American, 8% Asian, 6% White, 3% Two or more races.

How many students attend Whetstone Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 711 students attended Whetstone Elementary.

What district is Whetstone Elementary in?

Montgomery County Public Schools

What schools do graduates of Whetstone Elementary attend?

Students who attend Whetstone Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Montgomery Village Middle
High : Watkins Mill High

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Latest Maryland data All new data »

2025–26 MCAP test scoresJul 28, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026

2024–25 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

2024–25 MCAP test scoresAug 26, 2025

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.