Summary:
Zip code 21817, serving the Crisfield area of Somerset County, Maryland, is home to two public schools: Carter G Woodson Elementary and Crisfield Academy and High School, both part of the Somerset County Public Schools district, which is ranked 23rd out of 25 districts in Maryland.
The standout story is the remarkable turnaround at Crisfield Academy and High School, which has surged from a 1-star to a 3-star rating in just two years, now ranking in the 54th percentile statewide. This high school boasts a strong 88.8% graduation rate, a low 6.3% dropout rate, and an impressive 62% proficiency in 10th-grade English Language Arts—a figure that exceeds both the district and state averages. In contrast, Carter G Woodson Elementary shows consistent, though lower, performance, with a steady 38.8% ELA proficiency across all grades. A notable bright spot is the elementary school's 4th-grade ELA proficiency of 52.2%, which surpasses the state average of 48.6%, suggesting a targeted instructional success worth replicating.
Despite high per-student spending—$23,753 at the elementary school and $27,816 at the high school—both schools face significant challenges. Mathematics proficiency is critically low, especially at the high school where only 6.4% of students are proficient. Chronic absenteeism is a severe, systemic issue, with rates of 39.2% at the elementary school and 31.4% at the high school, representing the single biggest barrier to academic improvement. Both schools serve high-poverty populations, with free/reduced lunch rates of 76.95% at the elementary school and 67.76% at the high school, underscoring the complex socioeconomic factors that the district's substantial funding is working to address.
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