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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Ballenger Creek Elementary this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
715
Elementary
DISTRICT 545 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FREDERICK COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240033090471
Ballenger Creek Elementary
5250 Kingsbrook Dr, Frederick, MD 21703 · (227) 203-1880 · Frederick County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL715 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 50% of Maryland public elementary schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Maryland public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
57%
411 students
DISTRICT 39% · 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 | 56 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 104 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 111 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 106 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 125 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 105 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 108 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (104) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (108).
Student demographics
77%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
53.2%
MD avg 50.6% . +3.2pp since 2023
Math
36.8%
MD avg 34.8% . +0.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 53 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 53.2% | 36.8% |
| 2023-24 | 50.0% | 36.4% |
% 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
44.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.2%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% 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 Ballenger Creek Elementary
Ballenger Creek Elementary's state test result (44.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballenger Creek Elementary this school | 715 | 57.5% | 44.1% |
| Orchard Grove Elementary Frederick | 613 | 53.7% | 56.8% |
| Bollman Bridge Elementary Jessup | 775 | 52.9% | 39.9% |
| Red House Run Elementary Baltimore | 694 | 66.3% | 26.4% |
| Waters Landing Elementary Germantown | 735 | 56.3% | 33.9% |
| North Frederick Elementary Frederick | 660 | 57.4% | 49.6% |
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 Ballenger Creek Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Frederick County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.1% | #430 of 853 | #34 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.8% | #477 of 853 ▼ 22 | #34 of 39 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.2% | #373 of 853 ▼ 7 | #35 of 39 ▼ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 715 | #87 of 898 | #9 of 41 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.8:1 | #412 of 857 | #9 of 38 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 77.4% | #4 of 857 | #1 of 38 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.5% | #448 of 885 | #7 of 41 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +10.7% | #125 of 294 | #11 of 18 |
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
715
+113 (+19%) vs 2020
-17% since 2000-01, when it was 865
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
was 15.4:1
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 | 715 | 52 | 13.8:1 | 57% (411) |
| 2023-24 | 709 | 49.6 | 14.3:1 | 50% (358) |
| 2022-23 | 678 | 41.1 | 16.5:1 | 50% (339) |
| 2020-21 | 602 | 39 | 15.4:1 | 45% (273) |
| 2017-18 | 646 | 41.4 | 15.6:1 | 41% (263) |
| 2015-16 | 657 | 40 | 16.4:1 | 40% (264) |
| 2010-11 | 633 | 42 | 15.1:1 | 34% (217) |
| 2000-01 | 865 | 45 | 19.2:1 | 8% (69) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ballenger Creek Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 11% (646 to 715); teachers up 26% (41.4 to 52).
About Ballenger Creek Elementary
Families in Frederick, Maryland, are served by Ballenger Creek Elementary, a mid-sized elementary school. Its grade span covers pre-K through 5, with 715 students on the rolls. That compares with an average of about 481 students for elementary schools in Maryland.
Within Frederick County Public Schools, Ballenger Creek Elementary is one of 67 schools. The district enrolls 48,054 students.
Of every 100 students at Ballenger Creek Elementary, about 29 are Hispanic, the largest group. The school is also 26% Black, 22% White, 14% multiracial, and 8% Asian. That is higher than the 13% Hispanic share among all Frederick County residents. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 77%.
There are 52 full-time-equivalent teachers at Ballenger Creek Elementary, giving a ratio of 13.8:1. It is about the same as the 13.8:1 average for elementary schools in Maryland. By family income, 57% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is higher than the 37% average for public schools in Frederick County.
Among Maryland public elementary schools, Ballenger Creek Elementary outscored 50%, which works out to a B- on the allk12 Grade.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Ballenger Creek Elementary would score about 40.2%. It scores 44.1%, 3.9 points above that figure.
For the population of Frederick County, the median household earns about $122,002 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 46% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 4%. Ballenger Creek Elementary shares Frederick County with 68 other public schools.
Ballenger Creek Middle, about 0.8 miles away, is the closest public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Ballenger Creek Elementary is 5th on average proficiency.
By NCES locale, the school is Suburb: Mid-size, or in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Since 2020-21, enrollment has grown 19%, from 602 to 715. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio dropped from 15.4:1 to 13.8:1.
The Ballenger Creek Elementary discussion page is a place for open houses, carpools, and field trips. You can also rate the school on this page.
Frederick County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
287,048
Census ACS
Median income
$122,002
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
69
48,054 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Frederick County Public Schools
- Gov. Thomas Johnson HighHigh · 2,066 students
- Urbana HighHigh · 1,989 students
- Frederick HighHigh · 1,821 students
- Tuscarora HighHigh · 1,735 students
- Oakdale HighHigh · 1,702 students
- Linganore HighHigh · 1,647 students
Other schools in Frederick
- Gov. Thomas Johnson HighHigh · 2,066 students
- Frederick HighHigh · 1,821 students
- Tuscarora HighHigh · 1,735 students
- Linganore HighHigh · 1,647 students
- Crestwood MiddleMiddle · 996 students
- Waverley ElementaryElementary · 965 students
Nearby schools
- Ballenger Creek Middle0.8 mi · 777
- Tuscarora High0.8 mi · 1,735
- Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter0.9 mi · 317
- Tuscarora Elementary0.9 mi · 793
- Crestwood Middle1.2 mi · 996
- Orchard Grove Elementary1.3 mi · 613
Frequently asked questions
About Ballenger Creek ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Ballenger Creek Elementary?
Ballenger Creek Elementary enrolls approximately 715 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Ballenger Creek Elementary serve?
Ballenger Creek Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Ballenger Creek Elementary have?
Ballenger Creek Elementary employs 52 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.8:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Ballenger Creek Elementary?
At Ballenger Creek Elementary, the student body is approximately 22% White, 29% Hispanic, 26% Black, 8% Asian, 14% Two or more.
Is Ballenger Creek Elementary public or private?
Ballenger Creek Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Frederick County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.