Summary:
Zip code 20660, covering the Morganza area of Maryland, is home to a single high school, Chopticon High, which serves grades 9 through 12 with a substantial enrollment of 1,526 students as part of the St. Mary's County Public Schools district.
Chopticon High presents a striking paradox in academic performance. The school is a standout in English Language Arts (ELA), with 67.6% of students proficient in the 2025-2026 school year, significantly outperforming both the district (58.5%) and state (51.7%) averages. However, this strength is sharply contrasted by a severe weakness in mathematics, where only 15.4% of all students achieved proficiency—less than half the district average of 36%. The most dramatic data point is the Algebra I End-of-Course exam, where a mere 5.8% of students were proficient, suggesting a foundational math course is a major obstacle. This academic imbalance has contributed to a decline in the school's state ranking, dropping from 48th (4 stars) in 2024-2025 to 78th (3 stars) in 2025-2026.
Beyond test scores, the school faces significant systemic challenges. The chronic absenteeism rate is a high 32.4%, meaning nearly one in three students is missing substantial school time, which likely exacerbates academic struggles, particularly in cumulative subjects like math. While the graduation rate is a solid 90.0% and the dropout rate of 7.4% is slightly below the district average, the school's per-student spending of $17,056 does not appear to be translating into strong math outcomes. For parents, this data suggests that while Chopticon High excels in reading and writing, it requires urgent and targeted intervention in mathematics, especially in foundational Algebra I, to address a critical bottleneck affecting overall student achievement.
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