Summary:
Zip code 20710 in Bladensburg, MD, is home to three elementary schools—Port Towns Elementary, Bladensburg Elementary, and Rogers Heights Elementary—all serving grades PK through 5 as part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district, and all facing significant challenges with very high levels of economic disadvantage.
Among these schools, Bladensburg Elementary is the highest performer for the 2025-2026 school year, ranking in the 11th percentile statewide with the best math (11%) and ELA (23.5%) proficiency rates, though its ranking has dropped sharply from the 30th percentile in just two years. Rogers Heights Elementary stands out as the most improved, showing a consistent upward trend in its state ranking and boasting the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the area at 26.8%—far better than the district average of 30.2% and dramatically lower than its peers. It also excels in 5th-grade science, with 23.4% proficiency, nearly double the district average. Port Towns Elementary is the most challenged, ranking in the 5th percentile with critically low math proficiency (5.6%) and the highest chronic absenteeism rate (43.0%).
A key takeaway is that despite per-pupil spending between $19,000 and $20,000—well above national averages—academic outcomes remain critically low, suggesting that deep-seated issues like extreme poverty and chronic absenteeism are the primary drivers of performance. The chronic absenteeism crisis is the defining issue, with the two schools having the highest absenteeism rates (Port Towns at 43% and Bladensburg at 44.5%) also showing the lowest academic scores, while Rogers Heights, with its lower absenteeism, demonstrates the most promise. All three schools have favorable student-teacher ratios (11.9:1 to 13.2:1), indicating smaller class sizes, but this advantage has not translated into strong academic results.
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