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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at La Plata High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,217
High
DISTRICT 1,348 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240027000596
La Plata High School
6035 Radio Station Rd, La Plata, MD 20646 · (301) 934-1100 · Charles County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL1,217 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 25% of Maryland public high schools
- BTest 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.
- ·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
16.4:1
74 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.0:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
31%
377 students
DISTRICT 51% · 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 | 320 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 310 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 271 | 22% |
| Grade 12 | 316 | 26% |
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
67.8%
MD avg 50.6% . +6.7pp since 2023
Math
10.0%
MD avg 34.8% . +0.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 68 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 are up about 7 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 67.8% | 10.0% |
| 2023-24 | 61.1% | 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
37.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
55.9%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-18.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 56% 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 La Plata High School
La Plata High School's state test result (37.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Plata High School this school | 1,217 | 31.0% | 37.2% |
| Calvert High Prince Frederick | 1,080 | 39.3% | 41.7% |
| Walkersville High Walkersville | 1,181 | 38.8% | 40.1% |
| Towson High Towson | 1,558 | 27.1% | 48.4% |
| Brunswick High Brunswick | 910 | 27.8% | 44.2% |
| Winters Mill High Westminster | 1,156 | 37.1% | 42.5% |
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 La Plata High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Charles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 37.2% | #89 of 203 | #2 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.0% | #165 of 206 ▼ 11 | #3 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 67.8% | #71 of 206 ▲ 15 | #1 of 7 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,217 | #111 of 234 | #4 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #111 of 210 | #6 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.5% | #70 of 211 | #2 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 31.0% | #163 of 212 | #7 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +9.8% | #71 of 131 | #4 of 7 |
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
1,217
+43 (+4%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 1,409
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 16.5:1
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 | 1,217 | 74 | 16.4:1 | 31% (377) |
| 2023-24 | 1,217 | 75.5 | 16.1:1 | 29% (349) |
| 2022-23 | 1,222 | 69 | 17.7:1 | 25% (306) |
| 2020-21 | 1,174 | 71 | 16.5:1 | 22% (255) |
| 2017-18 | 1,108 | 72 | 15.4:1 | 13% (145) |
| 2015-16 | 1,144 | 78 | 14.7:1 | 18% (205) |
| 2010-11 | 1,396 | 82 | 17.0:1 | 13% (186) |
| 2000-01 | 1,425 | 76 | 18.8:1 | 13% (179) |
| 1990-91 | 1,409 | 89 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for La Plata High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 10% (1,108 to 1,217); teachers up 3% (72 to 74).
About La Plata High School
La Plata High School is a high school in La Plata, Maryland, and it is part of Charles County Public Schools. It offers grades 9 through 12 and has 1,217 students enrolled.
The district for La Plata High School is Charles County Public Schools, with 38 schools and 28,162 students.
White students are 53% of those enrolled at La Plata High School. The remaining shares are 27% Black, 9% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Census estimates put the White share of Charles County's population at about 33%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 63%.
La Plata High School reported 74 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, a ratio of 16.4:1. High schools in Maryland have an average ratio of 15.3:1. Roughly 31% of students at La Plata High School can receive free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Charles County average 50%.
Among Maryland public high schools, La Plata High School outscored 25%, which works out to a C on the allk12 Grade.
La Plata High School trails its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results by 18.7 points (37.2% versus 55.9%), a bottom-10% result in Maryland on BeatsExpectations.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Charles County show that the median household earns about $122,816 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 34%, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. Across Charles County, 40 public schools serve about 28,162 students.
La Plata High School's nearest public school is Mary H. Matula Elementary School (about 0.3 miles). There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, La Plata High School is 6th on average proficiency.
The school's locale code, Rural: Fringe, means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 1,217, compared with 1,174 in 2020-21.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at La Plata High School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Charles County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
170,527
Census ACS
Median income
$122,816
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
40
28,162 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Charles County Public Schools
- North Point High SchoolHigh · 1,960 students
- St. Charles High SchoolHigh · 1,617 students
- Thomas Stone High SchoolHigh · 1,230 students
- Westlake High SchoolHigh · 1,216 students
- Maurice J. McDonough High SchoolHigh · 1,163 students
- Henry E. Lackey High SchoolHigh · 1,033 students
Other schools in La Plata
- Milton M. Somers Middle SchoolMiddle · 671 students
- Walter J. Mitchell Elementary SchoolElementary · 663 students
- Mary H. Matula Elementary SchoolElementary · 610 students
- Phoenix International School of the ArtsMiddle · 243 students
- F. B. Gwynn Educational CenterElementary
Other La Plata High schools
One other US public school is named La Plata High. La Plata High School is the largest of the 2.
- LA PLATA HIGHLA PLATA, MO · 150 students
Nearby schools
- Mary H. Matula Elementary School0.3 mi · 610
- Milton M. Somers Middle School2.0 mi · 671
- Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School2.1 mi · 663
- St. Charles High School2.7 mi · 1,617
- Phoenix International School of the Arts2.8 mi · 243
- Mary B. Neal Elementary School3.7 mi · 626
Frequently asked questions
About La Plata High SchoolHow many students attend La Plata High School?
La Plata High School enrolls approximately 1,217 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does La Plata High School serve?
La Plata High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at La Plata High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at La Plata High School is approximately 16.4:1 (74 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at La Plata High School?
At La Plata High School, the student body is approximately 53% White, 9% Hispanic, 27% Black, 3% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is La Plata High School public or private?
La Plata High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Charles County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.