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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
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 31% 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.
  • DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.

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

Enrollment
659
Elementary
DISTRICT 614 · STATE 481
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
6
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

GradeStudentsShare
Pre-K467%
Kindergarten9014%
Grade 110316%
Grade 29114%
Grade 311017%
Grade 410316%
Grade 511618%

This year's kindergarten class (90) is 22% smaller than its 5th grade class (116).

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%
White
8713%
DISTRICT 29% · STATE 31% · US 43%
Hispanic
14522%
DISTRICT 14% · STATE 24% · US 30%
Black
28243%
DISTRICT 25% · STATE 32% · US 15%
Asian
10115%
DISTRICT 24% · STATE 7% · US 6%
Two+
365%
DISTRICT 7% · STATE 5% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
51%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
34452%
Female
31348%

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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 yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2549.8%38.3%
2023-2452.0%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 · methodology
Tier
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 →

Schools most like Forest Ridge Elementary

Forest Ridge Elementary's state test result (43.7% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Forest Ridge Elementary this school65940.8%43.7%
Hanover Hills Elementary
Hanover
87543.0%44.1%
Stonegate Elementary
Silver Spring
56534.5%56.4%
Swansfield Elementary
Columbia
59438.2%54.3%
College Gardens Elementary
Rockville
50643.3%63.6%
William Tyler Page Elementary
Silver Spring
62042.1%59.8%
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 Forest Ridge Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn MarylandIn 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
▲ 23
#35 of 42
▲ 3
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
49.8%#433 of 853
▼ 89
#34 of 42
▼ 6
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
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
40.8%#611 of 885#16 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. 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 2024-25
Enrollment
659
-4 (-1%) vs 2020
-5% since 2000-01, when it was 692
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
was 14.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-256595212.7:141% (269)
2023-2467952.113.0:135% (239)
2022-2364845.514.2:137% (238)
2020-216634614.4:127% (180)
2017-1869351.613.4:126% (177)
2015-167415114.5:127% (202)
2010-116994515.5:121% (148)
2000-016923917.7:19% (61)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Forest Ridge Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students down 5% (693 to 659); teachers up 1% (51.6 to 52).

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.

allk12 grades Forest Ridge Elementary a C. The grade compares the school only with Maryland public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.

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.

In 2020-21, Forest Ridge Elementary enrolled 663; in 2024-25, 659. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 12.7:1, from 14.4:1.

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 profile
Population
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

School name
Forest Ridge Elementary
District
Howard County Public Schools
Address
9550 Gorman Rd, Laurel, MD 20723
Phone
(410) 880-5950
County
Howard County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
659
Teachers (FTE)
52
Student–teacher ratio
12.7:1
Free and reduced lunch
269 (41%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
240042000177
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Howard County Public Schools
Other schools in Laurel
Other Forest Ridge Elementary schools

3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Forest Ridge Elementary. Forest Ridge Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 4.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Forest Ridge Elementary
How 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.
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