1
What's one community event at Damascus High more people should show up to?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,390
High
DISTRICT 2,003 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240048001455
Damascus High
25921 Ridge Rd, Damascus, MD 20872 · (240) 207-2400 · Montgomery County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,390 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 38% of Maryland public high schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
86 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
31%
425 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 54%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 399 | 29% |
| Grade 10 | 349 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 344 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 298 | 21% |
Student demographics
73%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
68.1%
MD avg 50.6% . +3.8pp since 2023
Math
10.4%
MD avg 34.8% . -6.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 6 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 68.1% | 10.4% |
| 2023-24 | 64.3% | 16.9% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of MD schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
39.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.1%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 56% typical for Maryland schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Damascus High
Damascus High's state test result (39.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Damascus High this school | 1,390 | 30.6% | 39.9% |
| Dulaney High Timonium | 1,889 | 33.2% | 36.8% |
| Long Reach High Columbia | 1,334 | 37.6% | 36.2% |
| Sherwood High Sandy Spring | 1,675 | 22.4% | 46.5% |
| Quince Orchard High Gaithersburg | 2,100 | 38.0% | 37.0% |
| Severn Run High School Severn | 1,608 | 33.0% | N/A |
Matched among Maryland high 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 Damascus High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.9% | #74 of 203 | #10 of 25 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.4% | #117 of 206 ▼ 58 | #13 of 25 ▼ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.1% | #69 of 206 ▲ 4 | #11 of 25 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,390 | #88 of 234 | #24 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.1:1 | #97 of 210 | #12 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 72.8% | #16 of 211 | #6 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 30.6% | #164 of 212 | #17 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +9.4% | #73 of 131 | #8 of 18 |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,390
-14 (-1%) vs 2020
+39% since 1990-91, when it was 1,003
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 17.1:1
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 | 1,390 | 86.2 | 16.1:1 | 31% (425) |
| 2023-24 | 1,398 | 84.6 | 16.5:1 | 30% (420) |
| 2022-23 | 1,414 | 86.6 | 16.3:1 | 32% (456) |
| 2020-21 | 1,404 | 82 | 17.1:1 | 20% (279) |
| 2017-18 | 1,271 | 76 | 16.7:1 | 15% (187) |
| 2015-16 | 1,209 | 71 | 17.0:1 | 15% (183) |
| 2010-11 | 1,335 | 74 | 18.0:1 | 11% (149) |
| 2000-01 | 1,775 | 103 | 17.2:1 | 4% (76) |
| 1990-91 | 1,003 | 63 | 15.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Damascus High.
Since 2017-18: students up 9% (1,271 to 1,390); teachers up 13% (76 to 86.2).
About Damascus High
Damascus High is the name of a medium-sized high school in Damascus, Maryland. The school serves 1,390 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25.
Montgomery County Public Schools has 208 schools; together they serve 159,181 students.
Enrollment at Damascus High is mixed, with White students the largest group at 38%. Beyond that, enrollment is 31% Hispanic, 13% Black, 11% Asian, and 7% multiracial. By the diversity index, Damascus High comes in at 73%.
The school employs the equivalent of 86.2 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 16.1:1. The average ratio among high schools in Maryland is 15.3:1, lower than at this school. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Damascus High is 31%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Montgomery County is 40%.
Measured against Maryland public high schools, Damascus High receives a C+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Damascus High is 16.2 points below expectations on state tests, given its student poverty level, placing it in the bottom 10% in Maryland.
Among Montgomery County residents, median household income is about $132,450, about 61% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. Damascus High is one of 211 public schools in Montgomery County, which together enroll about 159,181 students.
The closest public school to Damascus High is Damascus Elementary, about 0.2 miles away. Within five miles of Damascus High, there are at least 8 other public schools. On proficiency, Damascus High is behind the 61.3% nearby average, ranking 9th of 9.
Federal data place Damascus High in the Suburb: Large locale, which means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment has been fairly stable: 1,404 in 2020-21 and 1,390 in 2024-25.
To ask about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 Damascus
- John T. Baker Middle SchoolMiddle · 841 students
- Clearspring ElementaryElementary · 541 students
- Lois P. Rockwell ElementaryElementary · 518 students
- Damascus ElementaryElementary · 331 students
Nearby schools
- Damascus Elementary0.2 mi · 331
- John T. Baker Middle School0.7 mi · 841
- Clearspring Elementary1.1 mi · 541
- Lois P. Rockwell Elementary1.8 mi · 518
- Woodfield Elementary2.1 mi · 314
- Cedar Grove Elementary2.5 mi · 326
Frequently asked questions
About Damascus HighHow many students attend Damascus High?
Damascus High enrolls approximately 1,390 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Damascus High serve?
Damascus High serves grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Damascus High?
Approximately 16.1:1 students per teacher at Damascus High.
What is the student diversity at Damascus High?
Student demographics at Damascus High are roughly 38% White, 31% Hispanic, 13% Black, 11% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Damascus High?
Damascus High 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.