Summary:
Zip code 21158 in Westminster, Maryland, is served by two public elementary schools, Runnymede Elementary and Westminster Elementary, both part of the highly-rated Carroll County Public Schools district.
Runnymede Elementary stands out as the higher-performing school in the area, earning a 4-star rating and ranking in the 74th percentile statewide for the 2025-2026 school year. It excels particularly in mathematics, with an all-grades proficiency rate of 49.1%—well above the district average of 41.9% and significantly higher than Westminster Elementary's 41.7%. Runnymede also boasts a lower chronic absenteeism rate (16.3% vs. 19.9%) and a lower percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch (34.4% vs. 41.49%). While both schools outperform the state average in all subjects, they have different academic profiles: Runnymede is a math-first school, while both schools have room for improvement in English Language Arts (ELA) relative to the district's strong 67.5% average. A notable shared challenge is a significant drop in math proficiency between 3rd and 4th grade at both schools, suggesting a systemic issue in the curriculum transition.
Despite spending slightly more per student ($17,847 vs. $17,634) and serving a higher percentage of low-income families, Westminster Elementary achieves lower academic results than its peer. This indicates that factors beyond funding and poverty level—such as teaching strategies, school culture, and parental involvement—are driving Runnymede Elementary's success. The 3.6 percentage point gap in chronic absenteeism is a key differentiator, suggesting that improving attendance at Westminster could be a high-impact strategy for closing the achievement gap between the two schools.
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