Best Public Schools in Zip Code 21716

Zip code 21716 in Brunswick, Maryland, is served by three public schools—Brunswick Elementary, Brunswick Middle, and Brunswick High—which together form a complete K-12 pipeline within the Frederick County Public Schools district, a highly-rated system ranked in the 80th percentile statewide.

The standout school in the area is Brunswick Elementary, which is an academic powerhouse, particularly in math. It achieved a 54.4% proficiency rate in mathematics, which is 41% higher than the district average and double the state average. This school is the only one in the zip code to outperform the district in both math and English Language Arts (ELA). In contrast, Brunswick High presents a fascinating paradox: it is the top performer for ELA with an 80.6% proficiency rate (well above the state average of 51.7%), but it struggles significantly in math, where only 19.5% of students are proficient. Brunswick Middle acts as a key transition point, showing strong results in advanced math placement—55.3% of students taking Algebra I were proficient, which is 2.6 times higher than the state average—even as its overall math scores dip.

A critical takeaway is the "Brunswick Slide" in math performance, where proficiency drops dramatically from elementary (54.4%) to middle (28.3%) to high school (19.5%). Chronic absenteeism also rises with each grade level, reaching 21.3% at the high school, well above the district average of 16.7%. Interestingly, spending per student does not correlate with success: Brunswick High has the highest spending ($17,373 per student) but the lowest math scores, while Brunswick Elementary has the lowest spending ($15,804) but the best outcomes. This suggests that factors like instructional quality and school culture are more influential than financial resources alone.