Maryland School Ratings: Howard County Leads Region

The Howard County Public School System achieved the highest average star rating in the Baltimore region for the third consecutive year, according to the Maryland School Report Card released Thursday. The state’s annual review evaluates school quality based on factors such as graduation rates, attendance, and standardized test scores.

The district’s performance metrics improved sharply this year. Howard County now has 18 five-star schools, up from 10 in the previous year. This increase means that 23% of the district’s 77 schools earned the top rating on the report card scale. State education leaders are currently reviewing the criteria used to assign these stars, but the current system relies heavily on student performance data.

Specific schools experienced notable shifts in their rankings. Centennial and Marriotts Ridge high schools regained five-star status after dropping to four stars in the prior year. In contrast, Rockburn Elementary and Lime Kiln Middle moved down from five stars to four. The full list of 18 schools earning five stars includes Bushy Park, Centennial Lane, Clarksville, Dayton Oaks, Fulton, Northfield, Lisbon, Pointers Run, Triadelphia Ridge, Waverly, West Friendship, and Worthington elementary schools, along with Clarksville, Burleigh Manor, and Folly Quarter middle schools.

Sixteen schools in the district improved their overall ratings. Most of these gains involved schools moving from four to five stars. However, Cedar Lane Special Center, a facility serving students with disabilities, jumped from one star to two. Guilford Park High School, which opened in August 2023, received its first rating this year, earning three stars. Other schools that moved up one star include Bollman Bridge Elementary, Cradlerock Elementary, Elkridge Landing Middle, Hammond High, and Laurel Woods Elementary.

Test score changes contributed to several of these rating increases. Marriotts Ridge High School recorded a 10 percentage point jump on state English Language Arts exams, with 87.8% of students passing this year. Hammond High School saw a 5 percentage point increase on the English exams, resulting in 72.5% of students scoring proficient. These specific metric improvements helped drive the overall upward trend in the district’s ratings.

Howard County is tied with Calvert County for the second-highest share of five-star schools in the state, with both reporting a 23% rate. Worcester County holds the highest proportion at 27%. The Howard County district is the only one in Central Maryland without a one-star school. Baltimore City has the most low-rated schools in the region, with five institutions earning a single star. Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties each have two one-star schools, while Harford and Montgomery counties have one each.