Best Public Schools in Zip Code 20601

Zip code 20601 in Waldorf, MD, is home to four public schools within the Charles County Public Schools district, which is ranked 20th out of 25 districts in Maryland, serving students from elementary through high school.

Malcolm Elementary School stands out as the top performer in the area, earning a 2-star rating for three consecutive years and leading all local schools in math (23.2% proficient) and English Language Arts (41.1% proficient). It also boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 15.1%. In contrast, Thomas Stone High School faces the most significant challenges, with critically low math proficiency (0.6%), the highest chronic absenteeism (38.9%), and an 11.5% dropout rate, despite having the highest per-student spending ($21,315). J. P. Ryon Elementary School has shown notable improvement, jumping from the 4th to the 22nd percentile in state rankings, while John Hanson Middle School reveals a troubling "middle school slide," with 8th-grade math proficiency at 0%.

Key metrics across the zip code include an average math proficiency of 13.8% (well below the state's 27.1%), an average ELA proficiency of 36.9% (below the state's 51.7%), and a chronic absenteeism rate of 28.6%. The data highlights a paradox where higher spending does not guarantee better outcomes, as seen with Thomas Stone High School. A clear pipeline of struggle emerges from J. P. Ryon Elementary (68.44% poverty rate) through John Hanson Middle to Thomas Stone High, where the graduation rate is 82.3% compared to the district's 90.3%. However, John Hanson Middle School is a positive outlier in Algebra I, with 26% proficiency—higher than both the district and state averages—though this success does not carry over to high school.