Summary:
Zip code 21102 in Manchester, Maryland, is served by two public elementary schools, Manchester Elementary and Ebb Valley Elementary, both part of the highly-rated Carroll County Public Schools district, which ranks 2nd in Maryland.
Manchester Elementary is the standout school in the area, ranking 180th out of 864 Maryland elementary schools (79th percentile) for the 2025-2026 school year, significantly higher than Ebb Valley Elementary at 256th place (70th percentile). Manchester excels in English Language Arts (ELA), with 65.3% of students proficient, nearly matching the district average and far exceeding the state average of 51.7%. While Ebb Valley has a slightly lower overall Math proficiency (52.4% vs. Manchester's 54.1%), it shows a notable strength in 5th-grade Math, where 46.4% of students are proficient, outperforming Manchester's 36.6% and the district average of 44.5%. Both schools have improved their Science proficiency rates over the past year, a positive sign for STEM education.
Interestingly, Ebb Valley Elementary spends $506 more per student ($15,451 vs. $14,945) and has a slightly lower student-teacher ratio (15.5 vs. 15.8) than Manchester Elementary, yet Manchester achieves higher overall test scores and a better state ranking. This suggests Manchester may be using its resources more effectively or benefiting from other factors like school culture. Both schools face a shared challenge with chronic absenteeism, affecting roughly 1 in 6 students, though this is below the district average of 19.5%. Overall, families in this area have two strong elementary options, with Manchester leading in overall performance and Ebb Valley offering competitive math instruction at the upper grade levels.
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