Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 21157

At a glance

Schools

2,868

Students

Top rankedFriendship Valley Elementary117^th of 864 Maryland elementary schools

▲

Biggest riser

Friendship Valley Elementary up 77 spots statewide this year

◉

Smallest classes

Robert Moton Elementary 9.4 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

2★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked Maryland schools →

Summary:

There are six elementary schools in zip code 21157 (Westminster, MD), serving grades PK-5, all part of the highly-rated Carroll County Public Schools district, which ranks 2nd in Maryland.

For parents, the standout school is Friendship Valley Elementary, which is the clear academic leader with the highest state rank (117th out of 864, 86th percentile) and a 4-star rating. It excels in both math (62.8% proficient) and English Language Arts (67.6% proficient), while also having the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (14.2%). In contrast, Robert Moton Elementary faces significant challenges, with the lowest test scores (23.9% math, 31.9% ELA), the highest rate of students receiving free/reduced lunch (59.32%), and the highest chronic absenteeism among traditional schools (26.0%). Winfield Elementary is another strong performer, with the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (21.96%) and strong proficiency rates (54.3% math, 61.0% ELA). Cranberry Station Elementary and William Winchester Elementary perform near the middle, with math proficiency around 48-52% and ELA around 56-58%. The PRIDE School is a specialized program with only 6 students and incomplete data, making direct comparisons difficult.

A key takeaway is that higher spending does not guarantee better results: Robert Moton spends the most per student ($27,177) but has the lowest performance, while Friendship Valley spends less ($16,785) and achieves the best outcomes. Chronic absenteeism is a powerful predictor of performance, with lower attendance strongly linked to lower test scores. Additionally, 5th-grade math is a universal challenge across all schools, with significant drops in proficiency from 3rd grade, except at Friendship Valley, which maintains strong performance through all elementary grades.

Load more schools when map is moved

Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCAP Mathematics (2026)				MCAP English Language Arts (2026)				MCAP Science (2026)	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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 5th 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 All Grades	MCAP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Friendship Valley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1100 Gist Road	Westminster	21157	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3650	518	37	13.8	30.3%	392 (75.7%)	30 (5.8%)	63 (12.2%)	13 (2.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	17 (3.3%)	87.4	117^th of 864 public elementary schools	86.5%		78.7	194^th of 865 public elementary schools	77.6%	77	58.7	69.4	59.8	62.8	64.0	68.2	70.1	67.6	51.7	$16,785	$707	$16,079
Robert Moton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1413 Washington Road	Westminster	21157	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(410) 751-3610	440	47	9.4	59.3%	247 (56.1%)	47 (10.7%)	99 (22.5%)	18 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (6.6%)	29.4	582^nd of 864 public elementary schools	32.6%		46.4	439^th of 865 public elementary schools	49.2%	143	33.3	24.2	17.6	23.9	29.2	36.9	29.3	31.9	22.4	$27,177	$2,466	$24,711
William Winchester Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	70 Monroe Street	Westminster	21157	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3230	587	39	15.2	40.0%	397 (67.6%)	60 (10.2%)	106 (18.1%)	7 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (2.7%)	72.9	243^rd of 864 public elementary schools	71.9%		83.6	146^th of 865 public elementary schools	83.1%	97	70.8	54.1	27.5	51.9	61.3	60.4	51.6	58.1	38.5	$16,048	$934	$15,114
Winfield Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4401 Salem Bottom Road	Westminster	21157	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3242	724	53	13.6	22.0%	655 (90.5%)	14 (1.9%)	14 (1.9%)	20 (2.8%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	16 (2.2%)	76.5	214^th of 864 public elementary schools	75.2%		82.1	159^th of 865 public elementary schools	81.6%	55	73.1	51.8	39.5	54.3	66.7	64.2	51.8	61.0	36.0	$17,442	$884	$16,558
Cranberry Station Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	505 North Center Street	Westminster	21157	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 386-4440	593	40	15.0	44.4%	387 (65.3%)	57 (9.6%)	85 (14.3%)	27 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (6.2%)	69.5	260^th of 864 public elementary schools	69.9%		65.8	286^th of 865 public elementary schools	66.9%	26	64.4	45.1	37.6	48.3	59.8	58.8	49.5	55.9	34.7	$15,250	$1,138	$14,112
PRIDE School	Public	K-5	1100 Gist Road	Westminster	21157	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3653	6	1	9.0		3 (50.0%)	2 (33.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (16.7%)								(n/a)										$7,513	$599	$6,914

Cities Near Zip Code 21157

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Westminster	0.37 mi	18	106^th
Finksburg	4.46 mi	1	85^th
Sykesville	6.52 mi	11	24^th
Hampstead	7.53 mi	4	50^th
Union Bridge	8.06 mi	2	95^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.