Summary:
In zip code 20837, there is one high school, Poolesville High, serving grades 9-12 in the affluent community of Poolesville, Maryland, as part of the Montgomery County Public Schools district.
Poolesville High is an elite institution, consistently ranking among the top 5 high schools in Maryland over the last three years, including a #2 ranking in the 2024-2025 school year and a current #5 ranking (98th percentile, 5-star rating). The school excels dramatically in English Language Arts (ELA), with a 94.5% proficiency rate that far exceeds the district average of 58.5% and the state average of 51.7%. However, there is a stark "math paradox": only 15.5% of students are proficient in mathematics, which is below both the state (27.1%) and district (36.9%) averages. This suggests the school's overall ranking is heavily driven by ELA performance, and math is a critical area needing improvement. The school serves 1,351 students with a student-teacher ratio of 20.2:1 and per-student spending of $17,621.
Despite its high performance, Poolesville High has a chronic absenteeism rate of 20.8%, meaning over one in five students miss significant school days, which may contribute to the math struggles. Only 12.07% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a predominantly affluent student body. The school's stable elite trajectory—from #3 to #2 to #5 in recent years—shows sustained excellence, but the challenge remains to elevate math outcomes to match its exceptional ELA results and resource levels.
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