Summary:
Zip code 20755, home to Fort Meade, Maryland, contains a single large high school, Meade High School, serving grades 9 through 12 with 2,045 students as part of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools district.
Meade High School presents a striking paradox in academic performance. While the school significantly outperforms both its district and the state in English Language Arts (ELA) with 58.4% proficiency, it struggles dramatically in mathematics, where only 4.6% of students are proficient—a staggering 22.7 percentage points below the state average. This math crisis is worsening, dropping from 6.8% proficiency the previous year. The school spends $16,441 per student, yet achieves the lowest math proficiency rate in the dataset, raising questions about resource allocation. Additionally, chronic absenteeism affects 30.2% of students (nearly one in three), and the dropout rate stands at 11.7%, both significantly worse than district averages. The graduation rate is 82.5%, and 53.06% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a majority low-income student body.
The school's state ranking has fluctuated, moving from the 42nd percentile in 2021-2022 to the 51st percentile in 2024-2025, then dropping to the 46th percentile in 2025-2026. This volatility, combined with the extreme disparity between ELA and math performance, suggests that while reading instruction is effective, math instruction requires urgent intervention. The high chronic absenteeism rate is likely a primary driver of both low math scores and the elevated dropout rate. For parents, this means Meade High School offers strong literacy programs but faces critical challenges in mathematics and student engagement that need immediate attention.
Thank you for your feedback!