Summary:
Zip code 20675 (Pomfret, MD) is home to a single high school, Maurice J. McDonough High School, which serves grades 9-12 and is part of the Charles County Public Schools district.
Maurice J. McDonough High School presents a striking paradox in academic performance. The school is a standout in English Language Arts (ELA), with 68.6% of students proficient in the 2025-2026 school year—significantly outperforming both the district (45.6%) and the state (51.7%). However, it struggles dramatically in mathematics, where only 3.5% of students achieved proficiency, compared to 17% for the district and 27.1% for the state. This extreme gap suggests a potential imbalance in instructional focus or resource allocation. The school has maintained a stable state ranking in the 53rd percentile over the last two years, indicating overall middle-of-the-pack performance despite the wide subject variance.
Key metrics reveal additional context. The school enrolls 1,163 students with a student-teacher ratio of 15.7:1 and spends $18,227 per student—a high figure that raises questions about the effectiveness of its math program given the critically low proficiency rates. The graduation rate is a positive 90.5%, slightly above the district average, and the dropout rate of 4.5% is below the district average. However, chronic absenteeism is a concern at 30.1%, notably higher than the district's 26.6%, which may contribute to the math struggles. An interesting anomaly is the sharp decline in Algebra II proficiency from 18.3% to 6.8% between school years, warranting further investigation. Overall, while the school excels in ELA and maintains strong graduation outcomes, its math performance and absenteeism rates are significant areas for improvement.
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