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Northwood High

Public, Magnet Grades 9-12
126th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 220 Maryland High Schools
Better than 43% of Maryland high schools
Summary

Northwood High is a public magnet high school located in Silver Spring, Maryland, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 1,745 students. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools district, which is ranked 8th out of 25 districts in Maryland and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Northwood High has consistently underperformed compared to the Montgomery County and Maryland state averages in standardized test scores, particularly in mathematics. However, the school has shown stronger performance in English Language Arts. Northwood High has maintained a relatively high four-year graduation rate, ranging from 89.6% to 91.8% in recent years, which is comparable to the nearby schools. The dropout rate at Northwood High has fluctuated, ranging from 3.9% to 8.9% in recent years, which is higher than the nearby schools.

Northwood High has a significantly higher percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 59.19% to 67.69% in recent years, compared to the nearby schools, such as Bethesda-Chevy Chase High and Montgomery Blair High. This suggests that Northwood High serves a more economically disadvantaged student population. The school also has a higher per-student spending level and a lower student-teacher ratio compared to the nearby schools, which may indicate that the school is allocating more resources to support its student population.

1,654
Students ?
14.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$20,165
Per pupil spending ?
58.4%
Free/discounted lunch ?
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
59.4%
African American:
23.2%
White:
10.5%
more
 See top rated Maryland high schools

 Compare Northwood High to nearby high schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 34th percentile in 2009 → 43rd in 2025
Strengths
Test scores above the Maryland average (51% vs 37% meeting standards)
Ranking is trending up — up 9 percentile points since 2009
Worth a look
!Near the bottom of Montgomery County Public Schools's ranking
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school51%
District avg46%
Maryland avg37%
126th of 220
Maryland public high schools ?
Bottom 43%▲ up 13 pts since 2015
From bottom 30% (2015) to bottom 43% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Maryland High Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
22nd of 25High Schools in the Montgomery County Public Schools
8th 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202534.1126 of 22042.7%★★☆☆☆
202230.1142 of 22536.9%★★☆☆☆
201635.9154 of 23333.9%★★☆☆☆
201535.9163 of 23330.0%★★☆☆☆
201447.8155 of 23132.9%★★☆☆☆
201324.0151 of 18518.4%★☆☆☆☆
201233.0138 of 18726.2%★☆☆☆☆
201129.1142 of 18322.4%★☆☆☆☆
201046.1152 of 22030.9%★★☆☆☆
200948.2141 of 21333.8%★★☆☆☆
200848.6140 of 21434.6%★★☆☆☆
200744.6126 of 20939.7%★★☆☆☆
200642.6129 of 20436.8%★★☆☆☆
By subject vs Maryland (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts53%~ state avg
Mathematics50%+24 vs state
Algebra I50%+29 vs state

3.0
1 rating · 1 written review
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by a student
Thursday, October 4, 2018

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Frequently Asked Questions about Northwood High

Northwood High ranks 126th of 220 Maryland high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Northwood High are 59% Hispanic, 23% African American, 10% White, 4% Asian, 2% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,654 students attended Northwood High.


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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.





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