Best Public Schools in Zip Code 20866

The three public schools serving zip code 20866 in Burtonsville, Maryland—Paint Branch High, Benjamin Banneker Middle, and Burtonsville Elementary—form a complete K-12 pipeline within the Montgomery County Public Schools district, which holds a 4-star rating. All three schools serve a high percentage of students from low-income households, with Free/Reduced Lunch rates ranging from 51.91% to 54.91%, a key context for understanding their academic performance.

Math proficiency shows a troubling decline as students advance through the grades. Burtonsville Elementary leads the cluster with 28.7% math proficiency, but this drops sharply to 13.0% at Benjamin Banneker Middle and plummets to just 7.1% at Paint Branch High—far below the district average of 36.9%. However, Benjamin Banneker Middle presents a paradox: while its overall math scores are low, its advanced students taking Algebra I and Geometry achieve proficiency rates of 52.1% and 72.2%, respectively, dramatically outperforming district and state averages. In English Language Arts, Paint Branch High stands out with 55.4% proficiency, approaching the district average of 58.5%, while the elementary and middle schools lag behind at 45.5% and 37.9%.

Chronic absenteeism is a major concern at Paint Branch High, where 25.9% of students miss 10% or more of the school year—the highest rate in the cluster and above the district average of 22.6%. This likely contributes to the school's 85.8% graduation rate, which falls below the district's 88.7%. Burtonsville Elementary has experienced a notable decline, dropping from the 61st percentile to the 47th percentile in state rankings over the past two years. Despite all three schools spending well above the national average per student (over $18,600 each), academic outcomes remain below district benchmarks, particularly in math, suggesting challenges in translating resources into student proficiency gains.