Summary:
In zip code 20737, there is one middle school, William Wirt Middle, serving grades 6 through 8 in Riverdale, Maryland, as part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district.
William Wirt Middle is a large school with 1,124 students and a student-teacher ratio of 16:1. The school serves a high-needs population, with 96.53% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Academic performance is a significant concern, as the school ranks in the bottom 20% of Maryland middle schools (17th percentile). Proficiency rates are well below state averages: only 6.2% of students are proficient in mathematics (compared to 27.1% statewide), 26.2% in English Language Arts (compared to 51.7% statewide), and 7.4% in 8th-grade science (compared to 30.9% statewide). Chronic absenteeism affects 28.8% of students, which is slightly better than the district average of 30.2% but remains a critical barrier to learning.
Despite spending a high $20,748 per student, the school has not yet translated this investment into strong academic outcomes, highlighting the complex challenges of poverty and attendance. An interesting anomaly is that 60% of students taking the Algebra I End-of-Course exam were proficient, but this likely reflects a small, select group of advanced students and does not represent the general student body. Grade-level trends show that 7th graders have the highest ELA proficiency at 34.1%, but 8th graders drop to 21%, suggesting students may lose ground in literacy as they approach high school. Mathematics proficiency is uniformly low across all grades, indicating a systemic challenge in math instruction that requires targeted intervention.
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