Summary:
Zip code 20860 (Sandy Spring, MD) is home to two public schools within the highly-rated Montgomery County Public Schools district: Sherwood Elementary School (grades PK-5) and Sherwood High School (grades 9-12), with no middle school located within the zip code itself.
Sherwood Elementary School stands out as a strong foundational school, consistently outperforming both district and state averages in core subjects. Its math proficiency of 52% is well above the district average of 36.9%, and its ELA proficiency of 66.7% also exceeds the district's 58.5%. The school has improved its state ranking to the 78th percentile and benefits from a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.1:1. In contrast, Sherwood High School presents a dramatic split in performance: it excels in English Language Arts with 79.3% proficiency and boasts a strong 93.7% graduation rate, ranking in the 89th percentile statewide. However, its math proficiency plummets to just 10.3%, far below the state average of 27.1%, creating a stark "math cliff" from the elementary school's strong performance.
Both schools share a challenge with chronic absenteeism, with rates of 21.2% at the elementary and 24.1% at the high school, both near the district average of 22.6%. Per-student spending is high at over $20,000 for each school, yet the high school's math outcomes suggest resources are not effectively addressing this specific deficiency. For parents, this zip code offers a high-performing elementary school that builds strong math and reading skills, but the feeder high school, while excellent in literacy and graduation rates, struggles significantly with math instruction, a critical area for college and career readiness.
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