Best High Schools in Zip Code 21784

Zip code 21784 in Sykesville, Maryland, is home to three public high schools—Century High, Liberty High, and South Carroll High—serving grades 9 through 12 within the highly rated Carroll County Public Schools district.

Among these schools, Liberty High stands out as the top performer, ranking 10th in the state and achieving the highest proficiency rates in both English Language Arts (91.5%) and Mathematics (39.4%). In contrast, Century High excels in ELA with an 84.1% proficiency rate but struggles significantly in math, where only 13.5% of students are proficient. South Carroll High faces the greatest challenges, with the lowest state ranking (36th), the highest chronic absenteeism rate (22.3%), and a math proficiency rate of just 7.0%. Notably, South Carroll also has the highest per-student spending ($17,444) and the smallest student-to-teacher ratio (17.6), yet these resources have not translated into stronger academic outcomes.

A key takeaway is the wide "math gap" within this zip code: while Liberty High nearly matches the district average in math (39.4% vs. 41.9%), Century and South Carroll fall far below. Chronic absenteeism is a systemic issue across all three schools, hovering near the district average of 19.5%. Despite these disparities, all schools outperform the state average in ELA, reflecting a district-wide strength in literacy. For parents, Liberty High offers the most consistent high performance, while Century and South Carroll present trade-offs between strong ELA results and significant math challenges.