1
What's something Friendship Valley Elementary does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
518
Elementary
DISTRICT 527 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CARROLL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240021000052
Friendship Valley Elementary
1100 Gist Road, Westminster, MD 21157 · (410) 751-3650 · Carroll County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL518 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 70% of Maryland public elementary schools
- A-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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
37 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.4:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
157 students
DISTRICT 31% · 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 | 19 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 87 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 74 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 74 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 88 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 86 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 90 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (87) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (90).
Student demographics
41%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 40% · 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
66.7%
MD avg 50.6% . +4.7pp since 2023
Math
55.2%
MD avg 34.8% . -5.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 6 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 66.7% | 55.2% |
| 2023-24 | 62.0% | 61.0% |
% 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
61.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.3%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 56% 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 Friendship Valley Elementary
Friendship Valley Elementary's state test result (61.2% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friendship Valley Elementary this school | 518 | 30.3% | 61.2% |
| Bel Air Elementary Bel Air | 521 | 31.3% | 72.7% |
| Glade Elementary Walkersville | 561 | 29.2% | 62.8% |
| Valley Elementary Jefferson | 525 | 30.9% | 54.5% |
| Boonsboro Elementary Boonsboro | 514 | 30.7% | 69.4% |
| Centreville Elementary School Centreville | 535 | 35.0% | N/A |
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 Friendship Valley Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Carroll County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 61.2% | #205 of 853 | #17 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.2% | #243 of 853 ▼ 73 | #19 of 21 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.7% | #190 of 853 ▲ 23 | #11 of 21 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 518 | #342 of 898 | #13 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.8:1 | #421 of 857 | #6 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.7% | #620 of 857 | #8 of 22 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 30.3% | #710 of 885 | #10 of 22 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.2% | #214 of 294 | #17 of 20 |
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
518
+104 (+25%) vs 2020
+1% since 2000-01, when it was 514
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
was 12.9:1
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 | 518 | 37.5 | 13.8:1 | 30% (157) |
| 2023-24 | 499 | 38.7 | 12.9:1 | 28% (139) |
| 2022-23 | 524 | 35.8 | 14.7:1 | 25% (132) |
| 2020-21 | 414 | 32 | 12.9:1 | 22% (92) |
| 2017-18 | 497 | 34.3 | 14.5:1 | 18% (90) |
| 2015-16 | 484 | 33 | 14.7:1 | 22% (105) |
| 2010-11 | 475 | 30 | 15.8:1 | 18% (86) |
| 2000-01 | 514 | 27 | 19.0:1 | 11% (56) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Friendship Valley Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (497 to 518); teachers up 9% (34.3 to 37.5).
About Friendship Valley Elementary
Located in Westminster, Maryland, Friendship Valley Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school. The school counts 518 students across pre-K through 5.
Carroll County Public Schools has 26,141 students spread across 43 schools.
White students make up a majority at Friendship Valley Elementary, at 76%. Smaller groups are 12% Hispanic, 6% Black, 3% multiracial, and 3% Asian. For comparison, the population of Carroll County is roughly 86% White. The school's diversity index is 41%, meaning two students picked at random have a 41% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal data list 37.5 full-time-equivalent teachers at Friendship Valley Elementary in 2024-25, for a ratio of 13.8:1. That matches the 13.8:1 average for elementary schools in Maryland fairly closely. The lunch program counts 30% of students at Friendship Valley Elementary as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That tracks the 28% average for public schools in Carroll County.
Friendship Valley Elementary is graded B+ by allk12, scoring above 70% of Maryland public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Friendship Valley Elementary is 5.0 points above its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (61.2% versus 56.3%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Maryland.
Carroll County has about 175,321 residents, and the median household income is $118,211, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 41% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 4%. In all, Carroll County has 44 public schools and roughly 26,141 students.
PRIDE School is the public school closest to Friendship Valley Elementary, less than a tenth of a mile away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Fringe, meaning it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
Friendship Valley Elementary's enrollment climbed from 414 in 2020-21 to 518 in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Carroll County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
175,321
Census ACS
Median income
$118,211
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
44
26,141 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Carroll County Public Schools
- Westminster HighHigh · 1,477 students
- Manchester Valley HighHigh · 1,339 students
- Winters Mill HighHigh · 1,156 students
- Century HighHigh · 1,101 students
- Liberty HighHigh · 1,007 students
- South Carroll HighHigh · 933 students
Other schools in Westminster
- Westminster HighHigh · 1,477 students
- Winters Mill HighHigh · 1,156 students
- Westminster West MiddleMiddle · 923 students
- Westminster East MiddleMiddle · 796 students
- Winfield ElementaryElementary · 724 students
- Runnymede ElementaryElementary · 625 students
Nearby schools
- PRIDE School0.0 mi · 6
- Westminster High0.7 mi · 1,477
- Robert Moton Elementary0.9 mi · 440
- Flexible Student Support1.0 mi · 44
- Crossroads Middle School1.0 mi · 13
- Gateway School1.0 mi · 80
Frequently asked questions
About Friendship Valley ElementaryHow large is Friendship Valley Elementary?
Friendship Valley Elementary enrolls approximately 518 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Friendship Valley Elementary serve?
Friendship Valley Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Friendship Valley Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Friendship Valley Elementary is approximately 13.8:1 (37 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Friendship Valley Elementary?
Friendship Valley Elementary reports a student body of 76% White, 12% Hispanic, 6% Black, 3% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Friendship Valley Elementary?
Friendship Valley Elementary is overseen by Carroll County Public Schools in Carroll County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.