Summary:
Zip code 21921 in Elkton, Maryland, is home to two public middle schools, Elkton Middle and Cherry Hill Middle, both serving grades 6-8 within the Cecil County Public Schools district.
Cherry Hill Middle is the clear standout in this area, consistently outperforming Elkton Middle across nearly every academic metric. In the 2025-2026 school year, Cherry Hill’s overall math proficiency (22.5%) was nearly double that of Elkton (12.5%), and its English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency (47.2%) was 11.6 percentage points higher. Cherry Hill is also on a strong upward trajectory, improving its state ranking from the 38th percentile to the 55th percentile and earning a 3-star rating. In contrast, Elkton Middle faces significant challenges, including alarmingly low math scores—only 2.7% of its 8th graders were proficient in math—and a chronic absenteeism rate of 37.3%, which is nearly double Cherry Hill’s rate of 20.3% and far above the district average of 21.9%.
Interestingly, both schools have nearly identical spending per student (around $19,000) and similar student-teacher ratios (about 12:1), yet their outcomes differ dramatically, suggesting that factors like attendance and socioeconomic status are key drivers. While Cherry Hill has nearly closed the gap with the state average in ELA (47.2% vs. 51.7%), both schools trail the state in math proficiency. A notable anomaly is that Elkton Middle actually outperforms Cherry Hill in Algebra I proficiency (40.4% vs. 34.8%), possibly indicating a more selective placement process for advanced math. Overall, addressing chronic absenteeism at Elkton Middle would likely be the most impactful step for improving its academic performance.
Thank you for your feedback!