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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at James M. Bennett High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,474
High
DISTRICT 965 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WICOMICO COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240069001305
James M. Bennett High
300 E College Avenue, Salisbury, MD 21804 · (410) 677-5141 · Wicomico County
GRADES 09–12HIGH13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,474 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 14% of Maryland public high schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
15.5:1
95 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.8:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
54%
800 students
DISTRICT 59% · 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 8 | 1 | 0% |
| Grade 9 | 416 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 403 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 352 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 302 | 20% |
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
46.2%
MD avg 50.6% . +0.6pp since 2023
Math
10.0%
MD avg 34.8% . +0.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.2% | 10.0% |
| 2023-24 | 45.6% | 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of MD schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
27.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.1%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 42% typical for Maryland schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 James M. Bennett High
James M. Bennett High's state test result (27.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| James M. Bennett High this school | 1,474 | 54.3% | 27.9% |
| Aberdeen High Aberdeen | 1,396 | 51.6% | 29.9% |
| Great Mills High Great Mills | 1,697 | 57.5% | 32.1% |
| Parkside High Salisbury | 1,272 | 53.2% | 28.6% |
| Edgewood High Edgewood | 1,440 | 59.4% | 31.6% |
| North Hagerstown High Hagerstown | 1,583 | 58.2% | 39.9% |
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 James M. Bennett High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.9% | #144 of 203 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.0% | #204 of 206 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.2% | #147 of 206 ▼ 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,474 | #79 of 234 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.5:1 | #71 of 210 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.9% | #31 of 211 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 54.3% | #93 of 212 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.4% | #49 of 76 |
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
1,474
+112 (+8%) vs 2020
+41% since 1990-91, when it was 1,049
Student : Teacher
15.5:1
was 14.7:1
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 | 1,474 | 95 | 15.5:1 | 54% (800) |
| 2023-24 | 1,379 | 96 | 14.4:1 | 45% (625) |
| 2022-23 | 1,343 | 95 | 14.1:1 | 44% (593) |
| 2020-21 | 1,362 | 93 | 14.7:1 | 52% (714) |
| 2017-18 | 1,542 | 95 | 16.2:1 | 45% (701) |
| 2015-16 | 1,477 | 96 | 15.4:1 | 45% (664) |
| 2010-11 | 1,307 | 91 | 14.4:1 | 37% (479) |
| 2000-01 | 1,300 | 76 | 17.1:1 | 15% (201) |
| 1990-91 | 1,049 | 62 | 16.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for James M. Bennett High.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (1,542 to 1,474); teachers unchanged (95 to 95).
About James M. Bennett High
James M. Bennett High is a public high school in Salisbury, Maryland. It enrolls 1,474 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 9 through 12. That is 24% above the average of about 1,185 students for high schools in Maryland.
The 25 schools of Wicomico County Public Schools, including James M. Bennett High, enroll 15,582 students.
Black students make up 37% of enrollment at James M. Bennett High, the largest share of any group. The remaining shares are 35% White, 16% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 4% Asian. Census estimates put the Black share of Wicomico County's population at about 27%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 71%.
With 95 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 15.5:1. The ratio is within a point of the 15.3:1 average for high schools in Maryland. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at James M. Bennett High, 54% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
James M. Bennett High holds a D allk12 Grade, placing it above 14% of Maryland public high schools.
A school in Maryland with James M. Bennett High's free or reduced-price lunch share would be expected to score about 42.1%. James M. Bennett High scores 27.9%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Wicomico County show that the median household earns about $76,210 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 30%, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. Across Wicomico County, 25 public schools serve about 15,582 students.
Prince Street School, about 0.7 miles away, is the closest public school. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of James M. Bennett High. On state test proficiency, James M. Bennett High ranks 6th in a group of 8 nearby schools.
Locale: City: Small. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The school's enrollment increased 8% from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
On allk12, people connected to James M. Bennett High can post about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Wicomico County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
104,914
Census ACS
Median income
$76,210
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
25
15,582 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wicomico County Public Schools
- Wicomico HighHigh · 1,304 students
- Parkside HighHigh · 1,272 students
- Prince Street SchoolElementary · 976 students
- Bennett MiddleMiddle · 963 students
- Delmar ElementaryElementary · 914 students
- Salisbury MiddleMiddle · 847 students
Other schools in Salisbury
- Wicomico HighHigh · 1,304 students
- Parkside HighHigh · 1,272 students
- Prince Street SchoolElementary · 976 students
- Salisbury MiddleMiddle · 847 students
- Wicomico MiddleMiddle · 827 students
- Beaver Run SchoolElementary · 741 students
Nearby schools
- Prince Street School0.7 mi · 976
- Parkside High1.0 mi · 1,272
- Wicomico County Evening High1.1 mi · 35
- Pinehurst Elementary1.3 mi · 564
- Wicomico Middle1.5 mi · 827
- Wicomico High1.5 mi · 1,304
Frequently asked questions
About James M. Bennett HighWhat is the total enrollment at James M. Bennett High?
James M. Bennett High enrolls approximately 1,474 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does James M. Bennett High serve?
James M. Bennett High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does James M. Bennett High have?
James M. Bennett High employs 95 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.5:1.
How diverse is James M. Bennett High?
James M. Bennett High reports a student body of 35% White, 16% Hispanic, 37% Black, 4% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees James M. Bennett High?
James M. Bennett High is overseen by Wicomico County Public Schools in Wicomico County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.