Best Public Schools in Zip Code 21771

The four schools in zip code 21771 (Mount Airy, MD) serve 2,317 students across elementary and middle grades, split between the top-ranked Carroll County Public Schools and the highly-rated Frederick County Public Schools.

Twin Ridge Elementary stands out as the academic powerhouse, leading the area in both Math (55.8% proficient) and English Language Arts (69.1% proficient), outperforming its own district averages. In contrast, Mount Airy Elementary is the lowest-performing school in the cohort, with an ELA proficiency of just 53.9%—13.6 points below its Carroll County district average. Mount Airy Middle excels in advanced math, with an exceptional 67.1% of students proficient in Algebra I, nearly double the state average. The schools form a clear feeder pipeline: Parr's Ridge Elementary (PK-2) feeds into Mount Airy Elementary (3-5), which then feeds into Mount Airy Middle (6-8). Notably, Math proficiency drops 13.3 points from Mount Airy Elementary to Mount Airy Middle, while ELA proficiency jumps 17.6 points, suggesting the middle school has a particularly strong ELA program.

Chronic absenteeism is below district averages at all schools, with Mount Airy Elementary having the best attendance (12.2%) and Mount Airy Middle the worst (20.0%). Socioeconomic status is relatively affluent, with free/reduced lunch rates ranging from 19.45% at Mount Airy Middle to 26.34% at Parr's Ridge. Spending varies significantly, from $14,362 per student at Mount Airy Middle to $16,759 at Parr's Ridge, which serves only PK-2 and has no standardized test scores to evaluate its academic effectiveness. Student-teacher ratios are moderate, from 14.8:1 at Parr's Ridge to 18:1 at Twin Ridge.