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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Esperanza Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
835
Middle
DISTRICT 899 · STATE 764
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ST. MARY'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240060001220
Esperanza Middle
22790 Maple Rd, Lexington Park, MD 20653 · (301) 863-4016 · St. Mary's County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE23-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL835 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 69% of Maryland public middle schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
53 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.1:1 · STATE 14.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
43%
357 students
DISTRICT 43% · 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 | 286 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 258 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 291 | 35% |
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
51.1%
MD avg 50.6% . -6.8pp since 2023
Math
29.8%
MD avg 34.8% . -4.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 51 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 down about 7 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 5 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 51.1% | 29.8% |
| 2023-24 | 57.9% | 34.4% |
% 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
43.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.9%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 Esperanza Middle
Esperanza Middle's state test result (43.3% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esperanza Middle this school | 835 | 42.8% | 43.3% |
| Parkville Middle Baltimore | 900 | 45.1% | 36.1% |
| Walkersville Middle Walkersville | 779 | 41.6% | 48.9% |
| Old Mill Middle North Millersville | 958 | 41.3% | 31.3% |
| Northeast Middle Pasadena | 901 | 48.6% | 29.0% |
| Havre de Grace Middle Havre de Grace | 617 | 46.0% | 37.8% |
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 Esperanza Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.3% | #77 of 223 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.8% | #85 of 223 ▼ 33 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.1% | #104 of 223 ▼ 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 835 | #89 of 230 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #159 of 225 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.1% | #78 of 225 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.8% | #146 of 227 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.4% | #73 of 123 |
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
835
-23 (-3%) vs 2020
+35% since 1990-91, when it was 619
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
was 16.2:1
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 | 835 | 53 | 15.8:1 | 43% (357) |
| 2023-24 | 842 | 53 | 15.9:1 | 41% (344) |
| 2022-23 | 875 | 52 | 16.8:1 | 41% (362) |
| 2020-21 | 858 | 53 | 16.2:1 | 36% (307) |
| 2017-18 | 902 | 50 | 18.0:1 | 35% (313) |
| 2015-16 | 806 | 50 | 16.1:1 | 29% (232) |
| 2010-11 | 805 | 56 | 14.4:1 | 25% (199) |
| 2000-01 | 878 | 54 | 16.3:1 | 18% (154) |
| 1990-91 | 619 | 41 | 15.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Esperanza Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (902 to 835); teachers up 6% (50 to 53).
About Esperanza Middle
Federal records list Esperanza Middle as a middle school in Lexington Park, Maryland. The school counts 835 students across grades 6 through 8.
St. Mary's County Public Schools has a total of 26 schools and 16,905 students, Esperanza Middle among them.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Esperanza Middle is White (48%). The remaining students are 27% Black, 10% multiracial, 10% Hispanic, and 4% Asian. Census figures show St. Mary's County is about 71% White. By the diversity index, Esperanza Middle comes in at 67%.
Esperanza Middle counts 53 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 15.8 students for each one. The 14.3:1 average for middle schools in Maryland is lower than this school's figure. About 43% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. Across public schools in St. Mary's County, the average is about the same, 41%.
Esperanza Middle is graded B+ by allk12, scoring above 69% of Maryland public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Test results at Esperanza Middle are 5.6 points below what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (43.3% actual, 48.9% predicted).
St. Mary's County has these Census figures: median household income is about $119,446, roughly 37% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. The public schools of St. Mary's County number 28 and enroll about 16,905.
The closest public school, Green Holly Elementary School, is about 0.4 miles from Esperanza Middle. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Esperanza Middle places 6th out of 9 schools in its immediate area.
Under the NCES locale system, Esperanza Middle is Suburb: Small.
Esperanza Middle saw enrollment fall 3% between 2020-21 and 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.
St. Mary's County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
115,126
Census ACS
Median income
$119,446
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
16,905 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in St. Mary's County Public Schools
- Leonardtown HighHigh · 2,118 students
- Great Mills HighHigh · 1,697 students
- Chopticon HighHigh · 1,526 students
- Leonardtown MiddleMiddle · 969 students
- Spring Ridge MiddleMiddle · 913 students
- Margaret Brent MiddleMiddle · 878 students
Other schools in Lexington Park
- Spring Ridge MiddleMiddle · 913 students
- Chesapeake Charter SchoolElementary · 539 students
- Green Holly Elementary SchoolElementary · 478 students
- Lexington Park ElementaryElementary · 383 students
- Town Creek ElementaryElementary · 220 students
- St. Mary's County Evening HighCombined
Nearby schools
- Green Holly Elementary School0.4 mi · 478
- Town Creek Elementary0.7 mi · 220
- Greenview Knolls Elementary0.9 mi · 294
- Lexington Park Elementary2.8 mi · 383
- George Washington Carver Elementary3.0 mi · 460
- Great Mills High3.1 mi · 1,697
Frequently asked questions
About Esperanza MiddleHow large is Esperanza Middle?
Esperanza Middle enrolls approximately 835 students in grades 06-08.
Is Esperanza Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Esperanza Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Esperanza Middle?
Approximately 15.8:1 students per teacher at Esperanza Middle.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Esperanza Middle?
At Esperanza Middle, the student body is approximately 48% White, 10% Hispanic, 27% Black, 4% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Esperanza Middle public or private?
Esperanza Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by St. Mary's County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.