Best Public Schools in Zip Code 21784

Summary:

The 21784 zip code area in Carroll County, Maryland is home to a strong school district, with 11 schools serving students from elementary through high school. The Carroll County Public Schools district is ranked 2nd out of 25 districts in the state and has a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating an overall high-performing educational system.

Within this district, several schools stand out as exceptional performers. Liberty High School is ranked 13th out of 220 Maryland high schools and has a 5-star rating, with impressive proficiency rates in math and English language arts. Oklahoma Road Middle School is ranked 22nd out of 337 Maryland middle schools and also has a 5-star rating, with over 75% proficiency in Algebra I. At the elementary level, Linton Springs Elementary is ranked 39th out of 865 Maryland elementary schools and boasts exceptionally high math and English language arts proficiency rates.

While the schools in the 21784 zip code area generally perform well, with many exceeding county and state averages in key subjects, there are some areas of concern. The district-wide chronic absenteeism rate of 20.2% is higher than the state average, and a few schools, such as South Carroll High, lag behind in certain metrics like math proficiency. However, the overall strength of the Carroll County Public Schools district and the presence of several standout institutions suggest that families in the 21784 zip code area have access to a high-quality education for their children.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCAP Mathematics (2025)							MCAP English Language Arts (2025)								MCAP Algebra I (2025)	MCAP Geometry (2025)	MCAP Science (2025)		MCAP Social Studies (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MCAP Mathematics All Grades	MCAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 10th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts All Grades	MCAP Algebra I End of Course	MCAP Geometry End of Course	MCAP Science 5th Grade	MCAP Science 8th Grade	MCAP Social Studies 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Carrolltowne Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6542 Ridge Road	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3530	593	40	14.6	14.5%	446 (75.2%)	25 (4.2%)	41 (6.9%)	46 (7.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (5.7%)	86.2	121^st of 865 public elementary schools	86.0%		88.4	93^rd of 859 public elementary schools	89.2%	28	83.0	66.3	55.9				67.7	72.0	70.5	59.3					66.8			33.1			$15,763	$866	$14,897
Eldersburg Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1021 Johnsville Road	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3520	470	31	15.1	16.2%	372 (79.1%)	17 (3.6%)	29 (6.2%)	27 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.3%)	88.6	96^th of 865 public elementary schools	88.9%		85.3	117^th of 859 public elementary schools	86.4%	21	78.6	68.0	48.3				63.8	73.2	76.0	62.1					70.0			41.4			$16,076	$695	$15,380
Freedom District Elementary	Public	K-5	5626 Sykesville Road	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3525	627	39	15.9	12.4%	519 (82.8%)	13 (2.1%)	31 (4.9%)	30 (4.8%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.5%)	29 (4.6%)	93	61^st of 865 public elementary schools	92.9%		90.2	78^th of 859 public elementary schools	90.9%	17	75.5	66.9	59.8				67.7	73.0	78.3	68.8					73.7			52.6			$13,463	$616	$12,847
Mechanicsville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3838 Sykesville Road	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3510	510	33	15.3	15.5%	457 (89.6%)	18 (3.5%)	8 (1.6%)	15 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	11 (2.2%)	85.7	126^th of 865 public elementary schools	85.4%		83.7	135^th of 859 public elementary schools	84.3%	9	66.7	65.4	42.9				58.3	62.1	70.4	72.6					68.3			42.9			$15,410	$640	$14,770
South Carroll High	Public	9-12	1300 West Old Liberty Road	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3575	933	53	17.6	20.8%	726 (77.8%)	32 (3.4%)	113 (12.1%)	27 (2.9%)	5 (0.5%)	3 (0.3%)	26 (2.8%)	51.6	69^th of 220 public high schools	68.6%		63.1	25^th of 146 public high schools	82.9%	44							9.0							75.3	75.3	5.5	21.0				$17,444	$1,627	$15,817
Sykesville Middle	Public	6-8	7301 Springfield Avenue	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3545	697	47	14.9	18.4%	521 (74.7%)	32 (4.6%)	48 (6.9%)	52 (7.5%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	39 (5.6%)	90.3	37^th of 337 public middle schools	89.0%		88.2	32^nd of 328 public middle schools	90.2%	5				47.2	46.8	10.5	43.4				78.2	79.5	65.2		74.4	49.7			47.7	65.0	$14,261	$740	$13,521
Oklahoma Road Middle	Public	6-8	6300 Oklahoma Road	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3600	816	44	18.4	14.6%	601 (73.7%)	39 (4.8%)	57 (7.0%)	75 (9.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (4.9%)	92.3	22^nd of 337 public middle schools	93.5%		93.4	15^th of 328 public middle schools	95.4%	7				31.8	42.2	33.8	42.9				71.8	82.3	78.1		77.4	75.6			55.1	74.4	$14,294	$490	$13,804
Linton Springs Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	375 Ronsdale Road	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3280	759	45	16.9	15.0%	660 (87.0%)	16 (2.1%)	47 (6.2%)	15 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	18 (2.4%)	94.6	39^th of 865 public elementary schools	95.5%		92.2	60^th of 859 public elementary schools	93.0%	21	82.1	80.0	64.0				75.5	80.0	77.8	69.3					75.8			48.9			$13,367	$609	$12,758
Century High	Public	9-12	355 Ronsdale Road	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 386-4400	1,101	59	18.6	20.1%	817 (74.2%)	65 (5.9%)	74 (6.7%)	90 (8.2%)	3 (0.3%)	3 (0.3%)	48 (4.4%)	61.7	34^th of 220 public high schools	84.5%		64.5	24^th of 146 public high schools	83.6%	10							27.3							83.7	83.7	9.0	39.0				$15,851	$1,408	$14,443
Liberty High	Public	9-12	5855 Bartholow Road	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3560	1,007	55	18.2	14.5%	750 (74.5%)	66 (6.6%)	59 (5.9%)	93 (9.2%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	33 (3.3%)	77.5	13^th of 220 public high schools	94.1%		60	32^nd of 146 public high schools	78.1%	19							40.2							85.7	85.7	39.3	41.1				$16,072	$1,393	$14,678
Piney Ridge Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6315 Freedom Avenue	Sykesville	21784	Carroll County	Carroll County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(410) 751-3535	578	37	15.8	20.6%	383 (66.3%)	47 (8.1%)	40 (6.9%)	83 (14.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.2%)	93.9	44^th of 865 public elementary schools	94.9%		91.5	65^th of 859 public elementary schools	92.4%	21	73.6	73.1	64.5				70.5	78.2	77.8	66.7					74.3			53.2			$14,842	$710	$14,133

Cities Near Zip Code 21784

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Marriottsville	2.24 mi	2	10^th
Sykesville	2.45 mi	11	27^th
West Friendship	2.89 mi	1	3^rd
Glenwood	3.7 mi	2	8^th
Ellicott City	4.57 mi	22	55^th

See the top MD Maryland cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maryland State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.