1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Arbutus Middle right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
974
Middle
DISTRICT 818 · STATE 764
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240012000342
Arbutus Middle
5525 Shelbourne Rd, Baltimore, MD 21227 · (410) 887-1402 · Baltimore County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL974 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
60 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 14.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
55%
532 students
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 54%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 317 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 347 | 36% |
| Grade 8 | 310 | 32% |
Student demographics
73%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 73% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
MCAP 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 3-4)English Language Arts
50.4%
MD avg 50.6% . +1.7pp since 2023
Math
24.3%
MD avg 34.8% . +2.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 24 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 50.4% | 24.3% |
| 2023-24 | 48.7% | 22.1% |
% Proficient (Levels 3-4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
36.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.9%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 42% typical for Maryland schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Maryland's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Arbutus Middle
Arbutus Middle's state test result (36.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arbutus Middle this school | 974 | 54.6% | 36.4% |
| Catonsville Middle Catonsville | 818 | 36.6% | 43.2% |
| Kingsview Middle Germantown | 908 | 35.6% | 49.7% |
| Thomas Viaduct Middle Hanover | 758 | 47.5% | 28.6% |
| Perry Hall Middle Baltimore | 1,582 | 36.6% | 45.1% |
| Cockeysville Middle Cockeysville | 928 | 42.3% | 40.8% |
Matched among Maryland middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Arbutus Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Baltimore County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.4% | #107 of 223 | #7 of 26 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 24.3% | #111 of 223 ▼ 4 | #8 of 26 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 50.4% | #108 of 223 no change | #8 of 26 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 974 | #49 of 230 | #8 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.1:1 | #175 of 225 | #16 of 28 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 72.9% | #24 of 225 | #2 of 28 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 54.6% | #102 of 227 | #17 of 28 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.8% | #55 of 95 | #4 of 6 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
974
-30 (-3%) vs 2020
+24% since 1990-91, when it was 787
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 15.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 974 | 60.3 | 16.1:1 | 55% (532) |
| 2023-24 | 983 | 59.5 | 16.5:1 | 52% (510) |
| 2022-23 | 970 | 58.5 | 16.6:1 | 56% (543) |
| 2020-21 | 1,004 | 66 | 15.2:1 | 50% (500) |
| 2017-18 | 912 | 59.4 | 15.3:1 | 50% (453) |
| 2015-16 | 830 | 53 | 15.7:1 | 45% (371) |
| 2010-11 | 705 | 52 | 13.6:1 | 40% (283) |
| 2000-01 | 919 | 57 | 16.1:1 | 20% (186) |
| 1990-91 | 787 | 52 | 15.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Arbutus Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (912 to 974); teachers up 2% (59.4 to 60.3).
About Arbutus Middle
Arbutus Middle is a mid-sized middle school serving families in Baltimore, Maryland. Enrollment totals 974 students across grades 6 through 8. On average, middle schools in Maryland enroll around 764, and this school is 27% above that mark.
Baltimore County Public Schools (177 schools, 110,872 students) runs Arbutus Middle.
No group is above 50% at Arbutus Middle; the largest is White, at 41%. Other reported shares: 24% Asian, 18% Black, 10% Hispanic, and 7% multiracial. Baltimore County's residents are about 53% White, 12 points above the school's share. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Arbutus Middle scores 73%.
With 60.3 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 16.1:1. Middle schools in Maryland have an average ratio of 14.3:1. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Arbutus Middle, 55% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is in line with the 53% average for public schools in Baltimore County.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Arbutus Middle would score about 41.9%. It scores 36.4%, 5.5 points below that figure.
For Baltimore County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $91,768 a year, 42% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Baltimore County number 180, with about 110,872 students.
Arbutus Middle is about 0.5 miles from Arbutus Elementary, its nearest public school. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Its average proficiency rate of 36.4% is below the 46.8% average for nearby schools.
Arbutus Middle is coded as Suburb: Large in federal locale data.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell 3%.
The Arbutus Middle discussion page is a place for homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Baltimore County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
850,796
Census ACS
Median income
$91,768
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
42%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
180
110,872 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Baltimore County Public Schools
- Dundalk HighHigh · 2,087 students
- Perry Hall HighHigh · 2,012 students
- Woodlawn HighHigh · 1,922 students
- Kenwood HighHigh · 1,900 students
- Dulaney HighHigh · 1,889 students
- Parkville HighHigh · 1,877 students
Other schools in Baltimore
- Dundalk HighHigh · 2,087 students
- Perry Hall HighHigh · 2,012 students
- Woodlawn HighHigh · 1,922 students
- Kenwood HighHigh · 1,900 students
- Parkville HighHigh · 1,877 students
- Catonsville HighHigh · 1,735 students
Nearby schools
- Arbutus Elementary0.5 mi · 410
- Maiden Choice School0.9 mi · 118
- Catonsville Center for Alternative Studies1.1 mi · 68
- Relay Elementary1.2 mi · 581
- Halethorpe Elementary1.2 mi · 273
- Western School of Technology1.5 mi · 942
Frequently asked questions
About Arbutus MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Arbutus Middle?
Arbutus Middle enrolls approximately 974 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Arbutus Middle serve?
Arbutus Middle serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Arbutus Middle have?
Arbutus Middle employs 60 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Arbutus Middle?
Student demographics at Arbutus Middle are roughly 41% White, 10% Hispanic, 18% Black, 24% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Arbutus Middle in?
Arbutus Middle is part of Baltimore County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.