Best High Schools in Zip Code 20710

Zip code 20710 in Bladensburg, MD, is served by two high schools within the Prince George's County Public Schools district: Bladensburg High and International High School @ Langley Park, both serving grades 9-12 in a district ranked 22nd out of 25 in Maryland.

The two schools present a stark contrast in educational approach and outcomes. Bladensburg High is a large, traditional school with 2,114 students, a higher student-teacher ratio of 16.6:1, and lower per-student spending of $18,236. It struggles with student engagement, showing a 68.3% graduation rate, a 26.5% dropout rate, and 44.9% chronic absenteeism. In contrast, International High School @ Langley Park is a much smaller school (368 students) with a lower student-teacher ratio of 12.4:1 and higher per-student spending of $26,145. It achieves significantly better engagement metrics: an 87.9% graduation rate, a 12.0% dropout rate, and only 22.8% chronic absenteeism. Both schools serve a nearly identical, high-poverty population, with over 97% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch.

Despite its superior engagement, International High School @ Langley Park has lower ELA proficiency (16.1%) than Bladensburg High (35.5%), and both schools face a severe math crisis, with 0% proficiency in Geometry and single-digit proficiency in Algebra. This creates a paradox where the smaller school excels at keeping students in school but struggles with test scores, while the larger school has higher academic proficiency but fails to retain students. The district average for graduation is 78.9%, and for chronic absenteeism it is 30.2%, placing Bladensburg High well below these benchmarks and International High School above them. The key takeaway for parents is that International High School offers a more supportive, intensive environment that dramatically improves graduation and attendance, while Bladensburg High provides a larger, more traditional setting with higher academic proficiency in English but significant challenges with student retention and math achievement.