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What's one community event at Forest Ridge Elementary more people should show up to?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
659
Elementary
DISTRICT 614 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240042000177
Forest Ridge Elementary
9550 Gorman Rd, Laurel, MD 20723 · (410) 880-5950 · Howard County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL659 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
269 students
DISTRICT 29% · STATE 54%
Community
4
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 | 46 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 90 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 103 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 91 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 110 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 103 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 116 | 18% |
Student demographics
72%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
49.8%
MD avg 50.6% . -2.2pp since 2023
Math
38.3%
MD avg 34.8% . +3.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 38 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 49.8% | 38.3% |
| 2023-24 | 52.0% | 34.6% |
% 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
43.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.1%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% 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 →
Where Forest Ridge Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Howard County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.7% | #434 of 853 | #36 of 42 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 38.3% | #458 of 853 | #35 of 42 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.8% | #433 of 853 | #34 of 42 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 659 | #135 of 898 | #18 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.7:1 | #255 of 857 | #21 of 42 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 72.3% | #107 of 857 | #22 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.9% | #455 of 551 | #21 of 26 |
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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
659
-34 (-5%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
was 13.4:1
% White
13%
was 22%
% Hispanic
22%
was 14%
% Black
43%
was 31%
% Asian
15%
was 25%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 659 | 52 | 12.7:1 | 41% (269) |
| 2023-24 | 679 | 52.1 | 13.0:1 | 35% (239) |
| 2022-23 | 648 | 45.5 | 14.2:1 | 37% (238) |
| 2017-18 | 693 | 51.6 | 13.4:1 | 26% (177) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Forest Ridge Elementary.
About Forest Ridge Elementary
In Laurel, Maryland, Forest Ridge Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school. It enrolled 659 students in pre-K through 5 for the 2024-25 school year. Enrollment is 37% higher than the average for elementary schools in Maryland, which is about 481.
In Howard County Public Schools, 77 schools enroll a combined 57,565 students.
Forest Ridge Elementary's enrollment has no majority group, and Black students are the largest at 43%. Smaller groups are 22% Hispanic, 15% Asian, 13% White, and 5% multiracial. County-wide, 20% of Howard County residents are Black. By the diversity index, Forest Ridge Elementary comes in at 72%.
Teacher staffing is 52 full-time equivalents, or about 12.7 students per teacher. Among elementary schools in Maryland, the typical ratio is 13.8:1. About 41% of students, or 269, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. It compares with 27% for public schools in Howard County.
Forest Ridge Elementary's average proficiency rate on state tests of 43.7% is 6.4 points below the 50.1% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
In the county around the school, Howard County, median household income is about $149,763, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 65% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 4%. A total of 78 public schools operate in Howard County, serving about 57,565 students.
The nearest public school is Bollman Bridge Elementary, at about 1.0 miles. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. By average proficiency, Forest Ridge Elementary is 3rd among 9 schools close by.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Suburb: Large.
Between 2017-18 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 693 to 659. Among racial and ethnic groups, the biggest change was Black students, from 31% to 43%.
Questions about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome 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 Laurel
- Laurel HighHigh · 2,129 students
- Chesapeake Math and IT Public CharterCombined · 1,681 students
- Dwight D. Eisenhower MiddleMiddle · 1,047 students
- Monarch Global Academy PCS Laurel CampusElementary · 830 students
- Hammond ElementaryElementary · 763 students
- Gorman Crossing ElementaryElementary · 750 students
Nearby schools
- Bollman Bridge Elementary1.0 mi · 775
- Patuxent Valley Middle1.0 mi · 840
- Murray Hill Middle1.2 mi · 616
- Laurel Woods Elementary1.2 mi · 625
- Gorman Crossing Elementary1.3 mi · 750
- Guilford Park High2.2 mi · 1,218
Frequently asked questions
About Forest Ridge ElementaryHow many students attend Forest Ridge Elementary?
Forest Ridge Elementary enrolls approximately 659 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Forest Ridge Elementary serve?
Forest Ridge Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Forest Ridge Elementary?
Approximately 12.7:1 students per teacher at Forest Ridge Elementary.
How diverse is Forest Ridge Elementary?
Forest Ridge Elementary reports a student body of 13% White, 22% Hispanic, 43% Black, 15% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Forest Ridge Elementary?
Forest Ridge Elementary is overseen by Howard County Public Schools in Howard County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.