Summary:
Zip code 20764 is home to a single elementary school, Shady Side Elementary, which serves grades PK through 5 in the Shady Side area of Maryland, part of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools district.
Shady Side Elementary stands out as a strong academic performer, consistently outpacing both its district and the state of Maryland in Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency. For the 2025-2026 school year, the school achieved an overall math proficiency rate of 38.6%, significantly higher than the district's 29.3% and the state's 27.1%. In ELA, the school posted a 56.8% proficiency rate, also above the district (55.9%) and state (51.7%) averages. The school's state ranking has been on an upward trajectory, improving from the 62nd percentile to the 66th percentile over the last two years, driven largely by a notable 6.8 percentage point increase in ELA scores. With an enrollment of 391 students and a student-teacher ratio of 14.3, the school also benefits from a relatively low poverty indicator, with only 27.62% of students receiving free or reduced lunch.
Despite these strengths, there are areas of concern. While the school excels in early-grade ELA, with 63% of 3rd graders proficient, there is a clear downward trend as students progress, dropping to 49.3% proficiency by 5th grade. Similarly, 5th-grade math proficiency (28.4%) falls below district and state averages, suggesting a potential challenge as students approach middle school. The school also spends a substantial $19,097 per student, yet its 5th-grade science proficiency (35.8%) lags behind the district average (37.8%). Additionally, chronic absenteeism affects 19.7% of students, a rate nearly matching the district average and representing a significant hurdle to maintaining academic gains.
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