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What tradition at Arcola Elementary should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
747
Elementary
DISTRICT 514 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240048001643
Arcola Elementary
1820 Franwall Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20902 · (301) 287-8585 · Montgomery County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL747 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.9:1
58 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.9:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
57%
429 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 54%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 47 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 111 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 114 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 129 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 110 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 116 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 120 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (111) is 8% smaller than its 5th grade class (120).
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 75% · 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
34.4%
MD avg 50.6% . +10.9pp since 2023
Math
29.6%
MD avg 34.8% . +2.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 34 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 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 11 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 34.4% | 29.6% |
| 2023-24 | 23.5% | 26.7% |
% 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
28.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.2%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 29% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% 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 Arcola Elementary
Arcola Elementary's state test result (28.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcola Elementary this school | 747 | 57.4% | 28.6% |
| Watkins Mill Elementary Montgomery Village | 734 | 60.1% | 25.8% |
| Whetstone Elementary Gaithersburg | 711 | 56.3% | 36.8% |
| Georgian Forest Elementary Silver Spring | 600 | 57.8% | 29.7% |
| Harriet R. Tubman Elementary Gaithersburg | 571 | 61.6% | 27.9% |
| Bel Pre Elementary Silver Spring | 558 | 58.8% | N/A |
Matched among Maryland elementary 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 Arcola Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.6% | #664 of 853 | #122 of 131 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.6% | #594 of 853 ▼ 2 | #113 of 131 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.4% | #650 of 853 ▲ 98 | #116 of 131 ▲ 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 747 | #62 of 898 | #5 of 139 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.9:1 | #285 of 857 | #71 of 136 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.4% | #509 of 857 | #121 of 136 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.4% | #449 of 885 | #42 of 137 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +8.9% | #148 of 294 | #14 of 34 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
747
+44 (+6%) vs 2020
+21% since 2010-11, when it was 615
Student : Teacher
12.9:1
was 11.5:1
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 | 747 | 57.8 | 12.9:1 | 57% (429) |
| 2023-24 | 724 | 58.9 | 12.3:1 | 40% (293) |
| 2022-23 | 709 | 54.5 | 13.0:1 | 70% (497) |
| 2020-21 | 703 | 61 | 11.5:1 | 71% (499) |
| 2017-18 | 686 | 58.3 | 11.8:1 | 76% (523) |
| 2015-16 | 701 | 59 | 11.9:1 | 74% (519) |
| 2010-11 | 615 | 53 | 11.6:1 | 72% (445) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Arcola Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 9% (686 to 747); teachers down 1% (58.3 to 57.8).
About Arcola Elementary
Arcola Elementary is a public large elementary school in Silver Spring, Maryland. Its grade span covers pre-K through 5, with 747 students on the rolls. On average, elementary schools in Maryland enroll around 481, and this school is 55% bigger than that mark.
Montgomery County Public Schools has 159,181 students in 208 schools, and Arcola Elementary is one of those schools.
Of every 100 students at Arcola Elementary, about 66 are Hispanic. The rest of enrollment is 23% Black, 5% White, and 4% Asian. Among all residents of Montgomery County, the Hispanic share is about 21%. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 50%.
There are 57.8 full-time-equivalent teachers at Arcola Elementary, giving a ratio of 12.9:1. The school's 12.9:1 compares with an average of 13.8:1 for elementary schools in Maryland. By family income, 57% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 17 points above the 40% average for public schools in Montgomery County.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Arcola Elementary is -11.7 points: 28.6% actual, 40.2% predicted.
Census data for Montgomery County show the median household earns about $132,450 a year, 61% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Montgomery County number 211, with about 159,181 students.
The closest school to Arcola Elementary is Odessa Shannon Middle, located about 0.6 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Local comparison: Arcola Elementary ranks 7th of 8 nearby schools, at 28.6% versus a 40.5% average.
Arcola Elementary is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.
The school's student count rose 6% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio increased from 11.5:1 to 12.9:1.
On allk12, people connected to Arcola Elementary can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Montgomery County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,065,949
Census ACS
Median income
$132,450
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
61%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
211
159,181 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Montgomery County Public Schools
- Montgomery Blair HighHigh · 3,266 students
- Walter Johnson HighHigh · 3,016 students
- Wheaton HighHigh · 2,794 students
- Gaithersburg HighHigh · 2,441 students
- Seneca Valley HighHigh · 2,409 students
- Bethesda-Chevy Chase HighHigh · 2,377 students
Other schools in Silver Spring
- Montgomery Blair HighHigh · 3,266 students
- Wheaton HighHigh · 2,794 students
- James Hubert Blake HighHigh · 1,960 students
- John F. Kennedy HighHigh · 1,880 students
- Springbrook HighHigh · 1,838 students
- Takoma Park MiddleMiddle · 1,177 students
Other Arcola Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Arcola Elementary. Arcola Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Arcola ElementaryAldie, VA · 748 students
- Arcola Elementary SchoolArcola, IL · 410 students
Nearby schools
- Odessa Shannon Middle0.6 mi · 784
- Glen Haven Elementary0.8 mi · 540
- Stephen Knolls School1.1 mi · 51
- Glenallan Elementary1.1 mi · 679
- Kemp Mill Elementary1.2 mi · 412
- Forest Knolls Elementary1.3 mi · 472
Frequently asked questions
About Arcola ElementaryHow many students attend Arcola Elementary?
Arcola Elementary enrolls approximately 747 students in grades PK-05.
Is Arcola Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Arcola Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Arcola Elementary have?
Arcola Elementary employs 58 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.9:1.
What is the student diversity at Arcola Elementary?
Student demographics at Arcola Elementary are roughly 5% White, 66% Hispanic, 23% Black, 4% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Arcola Elementary?
Arcola Elementary is overseen by Montgomery County Public Schools in Montgomery County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.