Maryland school ratings: Montgomery County doubles five-star schools

Montgomery County Public Schools doubled the number of campuses earning the highest rating in the state, a move that brings the district closer to a long-standing administrative goal. Superintendent leaders have pledged that every campus will achieve the equivalent of a four- or five-star rating by 2035. The latest data shows the district making substantial progress toward that target.

Results released on Thursday from the Maryland School Report Card indicate that 36 of the district's 207 rated schools now hold five stars. That number represents a direct doubling from the 18 campuses that achieved the top rating the previous year. Consequently, two-thirds of the district's schools now occupy the highest two tiers of the state's performance scale. This is a sharp increase from the prior year, when approximately 54% of campuses held four or five stars.

The rating system calculates scores annually using a combination of standardized test results, attendance figures, student surveys, and graduation rates. While the majority of the new five-star designations went to elementary schools, the district also saw three secondary campuses reach the top tier. Herbert Hoover Middle, Thomas W. Pyle Middle, and Poolesville High joined the list of highest-performing schools in the county.

Two elementary schools, Beverly Farms and Travilah, also received the Maryland Blue Ribbon School designation. This award recognizes institutions that demonstrate high achievement on state and national tests or successfully close achievement gaps between different student groups. The addition of these schools to the five-star list underscores the district's strong performance across multiple metrics.

At the lower end of the scale, the district saw improvements among schools serving students with disabilities. John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents and Carl Sandburg Learning Center both rose from one star to two stars. Longview School remains the district's only one-star campus. In total, just seven of the 207 rated schools in the county scored one or two stars.

Montgomery County, the largest school district in Maryland, now has the most five-star campuses of any system in the state. Nearly 97% of its schools earned one of the top three ratings, compared to a statewide average of roughly 89%. The district consistently outperforms state averages in English language arts and math on annual standardized tests, a key factor in these calculations.

District leaders gathered at Gaithersburg Middle School on Thursday to acknowledge the results. That specific campus moved up from two stars to three stars this year. Maryland officials are currently redesigning the school rating system to place greater emphasis on academic performance in future evaluations.