Summary:
This analysis examines two middle schools in zip code 20784 (Hyattsville/New Carrollton, MD): Ellen Ochoa Middle and Charles Carroll Middle, both serving grades 6-8 within the Prince George's County Public Schools district.
Charles Carroll Middle stands out for its exceptional Algebra I program, where 81.8% of students taking the End-of-Course exam were proficient in 2025-2026—over seven times the district average of 11.1% and nearly four times the state average. This is a dramatic outlier given the school's low overall math proficiency of 8.8%, suggesting a highly selective group of test-takers or an exceptionally strong teacher for that course. Ellen Ochoa Middle is the larger school (1,086 students vs. 884) and has a significantly lower chronic absenteeism rate (12.8% vs. 21.3%), yet its test scores are generally lower than Charles Carroll's, indicating that factors beyond attendance drive performance here.
Both schools face severe challenges: over 96% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and overall math proficiency hovers around 8.5-8.8%, far below the state average of 27.1%. A notable pattern is a sharp decline in English Language Arts proficiency from 7th to 8th grade at both schools—a drop of about 13 percentage points each—suggesting a systemic issue with the 8th-grade curriculum or testing. Charles Carroll Middle spends $18,310 per student with a lower student-teacher ratio (13.6:1) compared to Ellen Ochoa Middle (20.1:1), yet this higher investment yields only marginally better overall proficiency, raising questions about resource efficiency.
Thank you for your feedback!