Summary:
The four public schools in zip code 21040 (Edgewood, MD) serve students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade within the Harford County Public Schools district, a community where high rates of poverty and chronic absenteeism create significant challenges for academic achievement.
Among the schools, Edgewood Elementary stands out as the relative bright spot, ranking highest in the area (33rd percentile) with the strongest early-grade performance—its 3rd graders nearly match state averages in math (40.6%) and ELA (56.3%). It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (21.5%) and the highest per-student spending ($22,106). In contrast, Edgewood Middle faces the most severe struggles, ranking in the bottom 27% of Maryland middle schools with only 5% of students proficient in math. Edgewood High presents a paradox: its ELA proficiency (51.8%) matches the state average, yet its math proficiency plummets to 10.9%, with a 0% proficiency rate on the Geometry exam. Deerfield Elementary shows a troubling "3rd grade cliff," where math proficiency drops from 24.8% in 3rd grade to just 5.6% by 5th grade.
The most critical takeaway is that chronic absenteeism is a defining crisis, with rates at Edgewood High (38%) and Edgewood Middle (35.2%) roughly double the district average (18.5%). This directly correlates with lower academic outcomes, suggesting that improving attendance is a foundational step before other gains can be expected. Despite higher-than-average per-student spending, the schools struggle to overcome the impacts of poverty, highlighting that financial resources alone are not enough to close the achievement gap in this area.
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