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What's the biggest difference between Great Mills High and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,697
High
DISTRICT 1,780 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ST. MARY'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240060001224
Great Mills High
21130 Great Mills Rd, Great Mills, MD 20634 · (301) 863-4001 · St. Mary's County
GRADES 09–12HIGH23-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,697 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
89 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.2:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
57%
975 students
DISTRICT 43% · 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 | 481 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 435 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 392 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 389 | 23% |
Student demographics
71%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
55.9%
MD avg 50.6% . +5.5pp since 2023
Math
12.2%
MD avg 34.8% . +2.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 56 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 12 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 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55.9% | 12.2% |
| 2023-24 | 50.4% | 10.0% |
% 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
32.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.2%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% 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 Great Mills High
Great Mills High's state test result (32.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Mills High this school | 1,697 | 57.5% | 32.1% |
| James M. Bennett High Salisbury | 1,474 | 54.3% | 27.9% |
| Edgewood High Edgewood | 1,440 | 59.4% | 31.6% |
| Aberdeen High Aberdeen | 1,396 | 51.6% | 29.9% |
| North Hagerstown High Hagerstown | 1,583 | 58.2% | 39.9% |
| Old Mill High Millersville | 1,832 | 56.0% | 34.5% |
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 Great Mills High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.1% | #123 of 203 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 12.2% | #85 of 206 ▲ 117 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.9% | #112 of 206 ▲ 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,697 | #55 of 234 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.1:1 | #194 of 210 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.8% | #35 of 211 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.5% | #82 of 212 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.5% | #115 of 131 |
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
1,697
-16 (-1%) vs 2020
+51% since 1990-91, when it was 1,127
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
was 19.5:1
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 | 1,697 | 88.7 | 19.1:1 | 57% (975) |
| 2023-24 | 1,748 | 90.7 | 19.3:1 | 56% (978) |
| 2022-23 | 1,779 | 91.7 | 19.4:1 | 55% (977) |
| 2020-21 | 1,713 | 88 | 19.5:1 | 48% (821) |
| 2017-18 | 1,655 | 85.2 | 19.4:1 | 45% (753) |
| 2015-16 | 1,535 | 86 | 17.9:1 | 36% (554) |
| 2010-11 | 1,654 | 88 | 18.8:1 | 34% (558) |
| 2000-01 | 1,565 | 89 | 17.6:1 | 13% (200) |
| 1990-91 | 1,127 | 63 | 17.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Great Mills High.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (1,655 to 1,697); teachers up 4% (85.2 to 88.7).
About Great Mills High
Great Mills High, located in Great Mills, Maryland, is a medium-sized high school. The grade span is 9 through 12, and enrollment is 1,697 students. Average enrollment for high schools in Maryland is about 1,185, so this school runs 43% above that.
Great Mills High is run by St. Mary's County Public Schools, whose 26 schools enroll 16,905 students.
Great Mills High has no majority group; Black students are the largest, at 38%. Beyond that, enrollment is 34% White, 14% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, and 3% Asian. In St. Mary's County overall, about 15% of residents are Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 71% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The ratio of students to teachers is 19.1:1, with 88.7 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. The school has more students per teacher than the 15.3:1 average for high schools in Maryland. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Great Mills High is 57%. It compares with 41% for public schools in St. Mary's County.
Great Mills High sits between the top and bottom 10% of Maryland schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 32.1% and a predicted 40.2%.
Federal survey data for St. Mary's County show that the median household income is $119,446, roughly 37% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. There are 28 public schools in St. Mary's County, enrolling about 16,905 students in all.
The closest other public school is George Washington Carver Elementary, about 0.4 miles away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Great Mills High is 8th of 9 on proficiency.
The NCES locale for Great Mills High is Suburb: Small, which covers schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population under 100,000.
The student count changed little between 2020-21 (1,713) and 2024-25 (1,697).
Discussion on this page can cover school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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
- Chopticon HighHigh · 1,526 students
- Leonardtown MiddleMiddle · 969 students
- Spring Ridge MiddleMiddle · 913 students
- Margaret Brent MiddleMiddle · 878 students
- Esperanza MiddleMiddle · 835 students
Other schools in Great Mills
- George Washington Carver ElementaryElementary · 460 students
- Greenview Knolls ElementaryElementary · 294 students
Nearby schools
- George Washington Carver Elementary0.4 mi · 460
- Chesapeake Charter School0.4 mi · 539
- Lexington Park Elementary1.8 mi · 383
- Greenview Knolls Elementary2.3 mi · 294
- Park Hall Elementary2.5 mi · 569
- Esperanza Middle3.1 mi · 835
Frequently asked questions
About Great Mills HighWhat is the total enrollment at Great Mills High?
Great Mills High enrolls approximately 1,697 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Great Mills High serve?
Great Mills High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Great Mills High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Great Mills High is approximately 19.1:1 (89 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Great Mills High?
Great Mills High reports a student body of 34% White, 14% Hispanic, 38% Black, 3% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Great Mills High in?
Great Mills High is part of St. Mary's County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.