Best Public Schools in Zip Code 21045

Summary:

The 21045 zip code area of Columbia, Maryland is home to 11 schools, including 7 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 2 high schools, all part of the Howard County Public Schools district. This district is ranked 4th out of 25 in Maryland and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Among the standout schools in the area, Waterloo Elementary ranks 115th out of 865 Maryland elementary schools and has a 4-star rating, with the highest proficiency rates in both math and English language arts. Stevens Forest Elementary also has a 4-star rating and strong proficiency rates, particularly in English language arts, along with a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 10.6. At the middle school level, Lake Elkhorn Middle stands out for its high proficiency rates in Algebra I and Geometry, exceeding the district and state averages.

The data also reveals some areas of concern, such as the high chronic absenteeism rates across all schools, which may be contributing to the academic challenges faced by some schools. Additionally, there are significant disparities in academic performance, with Long Reach High and Oakland Mills High having much lower proficiency rates, particularly in math, compared to the higher-performing schools. This suggests a need for targeted interventions to address these disparities and support the success of all students in the 21045 zip code area.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCAP Mathematics (2025)							MCAP English Language Arts (2025)								MCAP Algebra I (2025)	MCAP Algebra II (2025)	MCAP Geometry (2025)	MCAP Science (2025)		MCAP Social Studies (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MCAP Mathematics All Grades	MCAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 10th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts All Grades	MCAP Algebra I End of Course	MCAP Algebra II End of Course	MCAP Geometry End of Course	MCAP Science 5th Grade	MCAP Science 8th Grade	MCAP Social Studies 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Jeffers Hill Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6001 Tamar Dr	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-6872	406	35	11.5	44.1%	86 (21.2%)	162 (39.9%)	83 (20.4%)	34 (8.4%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (9.6%)	59.2	342^nd of 865 public elementary schools	60.5%		53.5	343^rd of 859 public elementary schools	60.1%	1	34.7	37.9	34.7				35.7	50.0	43.3	57.4					50.2				38.8			$23,156	$997	$22,159
Oakland Mills High	Public	9-12	9410 Kilimanjaro Rd	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-6945	1,413	103	13.7	43.2%	227 (16.1%)	628 (44.4%)	314 (22.2%)	119 (8.4%)	4 (0.3%)	2 (0.1%)	112 (7.9%)	35.2	121^st of 220 public high schools	45.0%		32.9	114^th of 146 public high schools	21.9%	7							5.8							63.7	63.7	3.1	7.6					$20,779	$1,052	$19,727
Oakland Mills Middle	Public	6-8	9540 Kilimanjaro Rd	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-6937	415	35	11.8	48.4%	87 (21.0%)	135 (32.5%)	133 (32.0%)	26 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	32 (7.7%)	56.4	132^nd of 337 public middle schools	60.8%		37.1	175^th of 328 public middle schools	46.6%	43				23.2	11.1	5.1	21.0				53.2	53.5	47.2		51.2	50.0		34.5		27.5	55.9	$24,494	$1,060	$23,433
Phelps Luck Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5370 Oldstone Ct	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 313-6886	681	58	11.6	46.5%	189 (27.8%)	164 (24.1%)	224 (32.9%)	54 (7.9%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (7.2%)	56.7	358^th of 865 public elementary schools	58.6%		48.4	390^th of 859 public elementary schools	54.6%	32	49.6	40.0	28.0				39.7	54.8	50.5	41.8					49.4				22.4			$21,395	$1,428	$19,967
Stevens Forest Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6045 Stevens Forest Rd	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 313-6900	314	33	9.5	59.2%	58 (18.5%)	124 (39.5%)	79 (25.2%)	22 (7.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (9.6%)	64.4	297^th of 865 public elementary schools	65.7%		67.3	257^th of 859 public elementary schools	70.1%	40	46.9	40.0	31.9				39.7	51.0	64.6	51.1					55.6				31.3			$26,356	$1,845	$24,511
Talbott Springs Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	9550 Basket Ring Rd	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 313-6915	461	46	10.0	45.3%	105 (22.8%)	147 (31.9%)	135 (29.3%)	23 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	49 (10.6%)	51.3	395^th of 865 public elementary schools	54.3%		51.6	364^th of 859 public elementary schools	57.6%	31	43.8	31.3	25.8				33.5	52.3	54.4	41.3					49.5				19.7			$24,018	$1,692	$22,326
Thunder Hill Elementary	Public	K-5	9357 Mellenbrook Rd	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-6922	459	39	11.6	37.7%	106 (23.1%)	144 (31.4%)	97 (21.1%)	73 (15.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (8.1%)	65	292^nd of 865 public elementary schools	66.2%		58.2	317^th of 859 public elementary schools	63.1%	25	44.3	47.3	38.6				43.2	55.7	55.4	51.1					53.9				27.3			$21,048	$1,067	$19,982
Waterloo Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5940 Waterloo Rd	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-5014	666	52	12.8	32.1%	215 (32.3%)	201 (30.2%)	94 (14.1%)	96 (14.4%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	56 (8.4%)	86.6	115^th of 865 public elementary schools	86.7%		85.4	115^th of 859 public elementary schools	86.6%		57.4	67.0	51.0				58.3	69.6	75.8	69.2					71.5				37.9			$20,202	$1,076	$19,126
Long Reach High	Public	9-12	6101 Old Dobbin Ln	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-7117	1,334	97	13.7	37.6%	312 (23.4%)	367 (27.5%)	399 (29.9%)	154 (11.5%)	2 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	94 (7.0%)	36.2	120^th of 220 public high schools	45.5%		36	100^th of 146 public high schools	31.5%	20							8.6							61.2	61.2	1.5	14.1					$20,610	$892	$19,718
Cradlerock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6700 Cradlerock Way	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 319-7601	453	44	10.3	55.6%	81 (17.9%)	218 (48.1%)	95 (21.0%)	17 (3.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (9.1%)	34.8	516^th of 865 public elementary schools	40.3%		37.4	465^th of 859 public elementary schools	45.9%	51	24.4	18.3	16.7				20.0	38.6	45.6	37.5					40.4				23.9			$23,814	$1,624	$22,190
Lake Elkhorn Middle	Public	6-8	6680 Cradlerock Way	Columbia	21045	Howard County	Howard County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 313-7600	569	47	12.2	49.0%	89 (15.6%)	272 (47.8%)	129 (22.7%)	32 (5.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (7.7%)	48.1	162^nd of 337 public middle schools	51.9%		31.8	197^th of 328 public middle schools	39.9%	35				19.2	9.5	4.5	21.2				36.9	56.8	45.8		46.3	50.0		72.7		22.0	50.0	$20,282	$1,058	$19,224

Cities Near Zip Code 21045

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Columbia	0.39 mi	23	136^th
Ellicott City	1.93 mi	22	55^th
Elkridge	2.62 mi	6	105^th
Jessup	3.61 mi	4	180^th
Laurel	4.27 mi	19	188^th

See the top MD Maryland cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maryland State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.