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What's something Atholton Elementary does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
516
Elementary
DISTRICT 614 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240042000718
Atholton Elementary
6700 Seneca Dr, Columbia, MD 21046 · (410) 313-6853 · Howard County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL516 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
16%
82 students
DISTRICT 29% · 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 | 34 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 79 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 72 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 67 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 99 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 81 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 84 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (79) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (84).
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 77% · 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
69.3%
MD avg 50.6% . -0.3pp since 2023
Math
54.5%
MD avg 34.8% . -1.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are down about 1 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 69.3% | 54.5% |
| 2023-24 | 69.6% | 55.7% |
% 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
62.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
64.8%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 62% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% 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 Atholton Elementary
Atholton Elementary's state test result (62.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atholton Elementary this school | 516 | 15.9% | 62.3% |
| Crofton Elementary Crofton | 621 | 17.7% | 66.0% |
| Greenwood Elementary Brookeville | 534 | 12.0% | 73.0% |
| West Towson Elementary Baltimore | 445 | 17.8% | 75.5% |
| Four Seasons Elementary Gambrills | 667 | 16.2% | 65.2% |
| Crofton Meadows Elementary Crofton | 544 | 24.1% | 52.5% |
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 Atholton Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Howard County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 62.3% | #190 of 853 | #21 of 42 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.5% | #250 of 853 ▼ 24 | #25 of 42 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.3% | #158 of 853 ▼ 26 | #18 of 42 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 516 | #348 of 898 | #28 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.7:1 | #543 of 857 | #38 of 42 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.9% | #239 of 857 | #33 of 42 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 15.9% | #824 of 885 | #31 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.0% | #194 of 294 | #10 of 15 |
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
516
+65 (+14%) vs 2020
+36% since 1990-91, when it was 379
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 12.9:1
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 | 516 | 35.1 | 14.7:1 | 16% (82) |
| 2023-24 | 520 | 35.5 | 14.7:1 | 17% (90) |
| 2022-23 | 489 | 35.5 | 13.8:1 | 17% (82) |
| 2020-21 | 451 | 35 | 12.9:1 | 13% (57) |
| 2017-18 | 487 | 36 | 13.5:1 | 13% (63) |
| 2015-16 | 424 | 30 | 14.1:1 | 13% (53) |
| 2010-11 | 477 | 32 | 14.9:1 | 23% (109) |
| 2000-01 | 532 | 33 | 16.1:1 | 6% (34) |
| 1990-91 | 379 | 24 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Atholton Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (487 to 516); teachers down 2% (36 to 35.1).
About Atholton Elementary
Atholton Elementary is one of the public schools in Columbia, Maryland. It is a mid-sized elementary school. It has an enrollment of 516 students in pre-K through 5.
Within Howard County Public Schools, Atholton Elementary is one of 77 schools. The district enrolls 57,565 students.
The largest racial or ethnic group at Atholton Elementary is White, with 50% of students. Next come 21% Black, 12% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, and 7% Asian. In Howard County overall, the White share is about 47%. The diversity index for Atholton Elementary is 68%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
There are about 14.7 students for every full-time-equivalent teacher at Atholton Elementary, which has 35.1. By comparison, the average for elementary schools in Maryland is 13.8:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at Atholton Elementary is about 16%. That rate is below the 27% average among public schools in Howard County.
On BeatsExpectations, Atholton Elementary is 2.5 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Maryland schools.
The county, Howard County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $149,763, about 65% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. The county has 78 public schools and about 57,565 students.
Of the public schools around it, Atholton Elementary is closest to Clemens Crossing Elementary, about 0.8 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. On average proficiency, Atholton Elementary is 2nd of 9 nearby schools with test data.
The school is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000, according to its NCES locale (City: Mid-size).
The school's student count increased 14% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years. The number of students per teacher increased from 12.9 to 14.7 over 4 years.
People who know Atholton Elementary can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Howard County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
336,328
Census ACS
Median income
$149,763
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
65%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
78
57,565 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Howard County Public Schools
- Marriotts Ridge HighHigh · 1,741 students
- Reservoir HighHigh · 1,597 students
- Atholton HighHigh · 1,540 students
- Howard HighHigh · 1,493 students
- Mount Hebron HighHigh · 1,455 students
- Oakland Mills HighHigh · 1,413 students
Other schools in Columbia
- Atholton HighHigh · 1,540 students
- Oakland Mills HighHigh · 1,413 students
- Long Reach HighHigh · 1,334 students
- Wilde Lake HighHigh · 1,197 students
- Hammond HighHigh · 1,159 students
- Phelps Luck ElementaryElementary · 681 students
Nearby schools
- Clemens Crossing Elementary0.8 mi · 481
- Atholton High0.9 mi · 1,540
- Lake Elkhorn Middle1.1 mi · 569
- Cradlerock Elementary1.2 mi · 453
- Hammond High1.3 mi · 1,159
- Stevens Forest Elementary1.6 mi · 314
Frequently asked questions
About Atholton ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Atholton Elementary?
Atholton Elementary enrolls approximately 516 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Atholton Elementary serve?
Atholton Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Atholton Elementary?
Approximately 14.7:1 students per teacher at Atholton Elementary.
How diverse is Atholton Elementary?
Atholton Elementary reports a student body of 50% White, 12% Hispanic, 21% Black, 7% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Atholton Elementary in?
Atholton Elementary is part of Howard County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.