Summary:
In zip code 20657 (Lusby, MD), there are two public middle schools serving grades 6-8: Southern Middle and Mill Creek Middle, both part of the highly-rated Calvert County Public Schools district.
Mill Creek Middle is the standout school in this area, outperforming Southern Middle in nearly every academic metric. Mill Creek ranks 139th out of 339 Maryland middle schools (59th percentile, 3 stars) for the 2025-2026 school year, while Southern Middle ranks 175th (48th percentile, 2 stars). The most striking difference is chronic absenteeism: Mill Creek's rate is 13.8%, dramatically lower than Southern Middle's 26.9% and the district average of 17.3%. Both schools serve similar economically disadvantaged populations (50.45% at Southern Middle and 53.21% at Mill Creek receiving free/reduced lunch), yet Mill Creek achieves higher proficiency in math (21.3% vs. 16.1%), ELA (49.5% vs. 45.1%), and science (32.8% vs. 20.7%). Mill Creek is an outlier in advanced math, with 43.1% of Algebra I students proficient—nearly double the district average (25.8%) and more than double Southern Middle's rate (19.3%).
Despite being in a top-3 Maryland district, both schools underperform district averages. For example, district math proficiency is 37.9%, but Southern Middle is at 16.1% and Mill Creek at 21.3%. A notable red flag at Southern Middle is its 8th-grade math proficiency of just 1.1% for 2025-2026, far below the district (15.9%) and state (9.6%) averages. This likely reflects that advanced math students take Algebra I, leaving a small, struggling cohort in standard 8th-grade math. Overall, Mill Creek Middle offers stronger academics and attendance, while Southern Middle faces significant challenges, particularly in math and chronic absenteeism.
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