Summary:
Zip code 21532, serving the Frostburg area, is home to a single high school, Mountain Ridge High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Allegany County Public Schools district.
Mountain Ridge High School enrolls 743 students and presents a mixed academic profile. A clear strength is English Language Arts (ELA), where proficiency rates consistently hover near the state average. The school also excels in Geometry, with 45.2% of students proficient, significantly outperforming both the district (36.3%) and state (44.5%). However, this success is contrasted by a critical weakness in Algebra I, where only 3.2% of students are proficient compared to 21.3% statewide, dragging overall math proficiency down to just 6.1%. The school has a graduation rate of 90.7%, but this is paired with a high dropout rate of 6.4% and a concerning chronic absenteeism rate of 40.4%, both well above district averages. Per-student spending is $15,211, yet the academic outcomes, particularly in math, suggest resources may not be effectively addressing student engagement and foundational skills.
While the school’s state ranking has declined from the 40th percentile to the 34th percentile over two years, this appears to be due to other schools improving faster rather than a drop in Mountain Ridge’s own test scores, which have remained relatively stable. The key takeaway for parents is a school with notable strengths in ELA and Geometry, but significant challenges in Algebra I, student attendance, and overall math proficiency that require targeted attention.
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