Summary:
Zip code 21719 in Cascade, MD, is home to a single elementary school, Cascade Elementary, which serves grades PK through 5 within the Washington County Public Schools district.
Cascade Elementary is a very small school with 137 students and a relatively high student-teacher ratio of 19.2. A majority of its students (60.58%) qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a high-poverty population. The school spends a substantial $19,965 per student, likely due to the fixed costs of running a small, rural school. While its chronic absenteeism rate of 24.6% is better than the district average of 29.0%, it remains high, with nearly one in four students missing significant school time. The school's state ranking has declined over the past two years, dropping from the 59th percentile (3 stars) to the 43rd percentile (2 stars).
The most notable finding is a clear split in academic performance. In Math, the school has been a relative strength, with its 2024-2025 all-grades proficiency of 32.8% exceeding both the district (28.2%) and state (26.5%) averages. However, in English Language Arts (ELA), the school consistently underperforms, with a 2025-2026 proficiency of 37.9% that is far below the district (55%) and state (51.7%) averages. This suggests a potential imbalance in instructional focus or resources. Additionally, grade-level data shows performance drops as students get older; for example, 5th-grade Math proficiency (20%) was nearly half that of 3rd graders (38.1%), indicating the school may struggle to build on foundational skills in later grades.
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