Summary:
In zip code 21620, there is one middle school, Kent County Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8 in Chestertown, Maryland, as part of the Kent County Public Schools district.
Kent County Middle School has a total enrollment of 354 students and faces significant academic challenges, particularly in mathematics. Only 7.6% of all students are proficient in math, which is far below the state average of 27.1%. English Language Arts proficiency stands at 36.2%, also below the state average of 51.7%. However, the school shows a notable strength in Algebra I, where 17.9% of test-takers are proficient, nearly matching the state average of 21.3% and far exceeding the district average of 4.7%. The school has a high per-student spending of $23,421 and a favorable student-teacher ratio of 10.3:1, yet these resources have not translated into strong overall academic outcomes. Chronic absenteeism is a concern at 25.6%, though this is better than the district average of 33.1%. The school has received a 1-star rating for the past two years, ranking in the bottom third of Maryland middle schools.
The most striking finding is the contrast between the school's general math program, which is in crisis with only 4.3% of 8th graders proficient in grade-level math, and its advanced Algebra I program, which successfully accelerates a select group of students. This suggests that while the school can effectively support higher-achieving students in advanced coursework, the vast majority of students are struggling with foundational math skills. The high spending and low student-teacher ratio indicate potential for improvement, but the school has not made meaningful progress relative to its peers over the past three years, with rankings stuck between the 24th and 32nd percentiles.
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