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Carter G Woodson Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
596th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 864 Maryland Elementary Schools
Better than 31% of Maryland elementary schools
Summary

Carter G Woodson Elementary in Crisfield, MD, serves 512 students from Pre-K through 5th grade in a high-poverty community where about 77% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and it is part of the Somerset County Public Schools district.

This school has a notable strength in supporting its most economically disadvantaged students, ranking in the 80th percentile statewide for effectiveness with low-socioeconomic status students in the 2020-2021 school year. However, this success is overshadowed by a severe chronic absenteeism crisis, with 39.2% of students chronically absent in the 2024-2025 school year—the highest rate among nearby schools. For comparison, Deal Island School, also in Somerset County, has a much lower absenteeism rate of 28.4% and achieves nearly double the proficiency rates in math (34.6%) and English Language Arts (55.8%). Meanwhile, Pocomoke Elementary, just 17 miles away in the highly-ranked Worcester County Public Schools district, achieves 85.7% math and 80% ELA proficiency despite lower per-student spending.

Academically, Carter G Woodson shows inconsistent performance across subjects and grades. While 38.8% of students are proficient in ELA, only 18% achieve math proficiency, and 4th-grade ELA proficiency (52.2%) actually exceeds the state average. The school spends a high $23,753 per student, yet outcomes remain below state averages, suggesting that addressing chronic absenteeism is the most critical lever for improvement. The school's challenges are amplified by its specific local context, including higher poverty concentration and attendance issues, rather than being solely district-wide problems.

512
Students ?
15.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$23,753
Per pupil spending ?
77%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 281a Woodson School Rd
       Crisfield, MD  21817

(410) 968-1295

District: Somerset County Public Schools


Students who attend Carter G Woodson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Somerset 6/7 Intermediate School
High:    Crisfield Academy and High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
48.0%
African American:
28.9%
Hispanic:
11.9%
more
 See top rated Maryland elementary schools

 Compare Carter G Woodson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 26th percentile in 2016 → 31st in 2026
Strengths
Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2016
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Maryland average (27% vs 39% meeting standards)
!Science scores 17 pts below the Maryland average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school27%
District avg22%
Maryland avg39%
596th of 864
Maryland public elementary schools ?
Bottom 31%▲ up 5 pts since 2016
From bottom 26% (2016) to bottom 31% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Maryland Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 3Elementary Schools in the Somerset County Public Schools
23rd of 25Somerset 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
202628.1596 of 86431.0%★★☆☆☆
202531.1550 of 86536.4%★★☆☆☆
202427.0564 of 85934.3%★★☆☆☆
202329.3553 of 85535.3%★★☆☆☆
202231.3557 of 86235.4%★★☆☆☆
202129.5487 of 80239.3%★★☆☆☆
201934.8508 of 85340.4%★★☆☆☆
201834.3518 of 85739.6%★★☆☆☆
201729.3569 of 84732.8%★★☆☆☆
201623.7628 of 84525.7%★☆☆☆☆
201526.2611 of 85928.9%★☆☆☆☆
201457.4431 of 86750.3%★★★☆☆
201367.4277 of 84767.3%★★★☆☆
201272.3229 of 85773.3%★★★★☆
201156.8418 of 85351.0%★★★☆☆
201051.4479 of 85544.0%★★☆☆☆
200944.6544 of 85036.0%★★☆☆☆
200842.6562 of 83832.9%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202152.0159 of 50468.5%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202126.8528 of 79633.7%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202160.6108 of 54680.2%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202136.4401 of 78849.1%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202123.0399 of 52824.4%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Low Socio Economic Status (2021)80th percentile+41 vs school
African American (2021)68th percentile+29 vs school
Male (2021)49th percentile+10 vs school
Female (2021)34th percentile-6 vs school
White (2021)24th percentile-15 vs school
By subject vs Maryland (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts39%-13 vs state
Mathematics18%-9 vs state
Science16%-17 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Carter G Woodson Elementary

Students who attend Carter G Woodson Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Somerset 6/7 Intermediate School
High : Crisfield Academy and High School

Students at Carter G Woodson Elementary are 48% White, 29% African American, 12% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races.

Carter G Woodson Elementary ranks 596th of 864 Maryland elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2024-25 school year, 512 students attended Carter G Woodson Elementary.

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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.

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