Summary:
Zip code 20634 in Great Mills, Maryland, is home to a single high school, Great Mills High, which serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the St. Mary's County Public Schools district.
Great Mills High is a large school with 1,697 students and a 3-star rating, but it presents a mixed picture of strengths and challenges. The school excels in advanced math, with 79.4% of students proficient in Algebra II, far exceeding the state average of 27.1%. However, it struggles significantly with foundational math, as only 5.6% of students are proficient in Algebra I, compared to 21.3% statewide. Overall math proficiency is just 17.5%, well below the district's 36%. English Language Arts is a relative bright spot, with 55.4% proficiency, slightly above the state average of 51.7%. The school's graduation rate is 83.0%, below the district's 90.0%, and its dropout rate is a high 13.9%, nearly double the district's 7.8%. Chronic absenteeism affects 39.7% of students, significantly higher than the district's 27.3%.
The most critical takeaway is a crisis of student engagement, as the high dropout and absenteeism rates likely drive the low overall math scores and below-average graduation rate. The "Algebra Paradox" suggests that only a small, high-achieving group advances to Algebra II, while most students struggle with the basics. Despite per-student spending of $17,379, which is relatively high, outcomes in math and graduation lag, raising questions about resource allocation. Addressing absenteeism and dropout prevention could have the greatest impact on improving the school's performance.
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