Summary
Riverdale Elementary in Riverdale, MD, is a public school serving 586 students from Pre-K through 5th grade as part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district, where over 93% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating high economic need.
Academically, Riverdale Elementary has shown recent improvement, moving from the 10th to the 23rd percentile in state rankings over the past few years, but it still performs in the bottom quarter of Maryland elementary schools. A key strength is in English Language Arts (ELA), where 33.6% of students are proficient—the third-highest rate among 11 nearby schools. However, math proficiency is a major challenge, with only 15.1% of students meeting standards. A notable bright spot is 3rd-grade math, where 27.2% of students are proficient, the second-highest in the area and above the district average. Unfortunately, this success doesn't continue, as math proficiency drops sharply to just 7% by 5th grade, suggesting the school struggles to build on early skills. For comparison, nearby Hyattsville Elementary, serving a similar population, achieves much higher results, with 53.3% proficiency in ELA and 24.1% in math, showing that significant improvement is possible.
On a positive note, Riverdale Elementary has a lower chronic absenteeism rate (27.2%) than the district average (30.2%), indicating good student engagement despite high poverty. The school also spends a substantial $21,686 per student, the fourth-highest among its peers, yet this investment hasn't yet translated into strong academic outcomes. While the upward trend in state rankings is encouraging, the school faces critical challenges in math instruction, especially in upper grades, and must work to sustain momentum to close the gap with higher-performing local schools.
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