1
What do students at Northern High actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,478
High
DISTRICT 961 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240015000516
Northern High
2950 Chaneyville Rd, Owings, MD 20736 · (443) 550-8950 · Calvert County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL1,478 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 72% of Maryland public high schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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
18.6:1
80 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.1:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
21%
304 students
DISTRICT 35% · 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 | 362 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 345 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 363 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 408 | 28% |
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · 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
86.7%
MD avg 50.6% . +9.8pp since 2023
Math
15.7%
MD avg 34.8% . -0.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 87 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 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 10 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 86.7% | 15.7% |
| 2023-24 | 76.9% | 16.4% |
% 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
48.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.0%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 62% 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 Northern High
Northern High's state test result (48.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern High this school | 1,478 | 20.6% | 48.9% |
| Huntingtown High School Huntingtown | 1,311 | 20.0% | 48.2% |
| Westminster High Westminster | 1,477 | 25.0% | 45.3% |
| C. Milton Wright High Bel Air | 1,291 | 25.3% | 39.3% |
| South River High Edgewater | 1,680 | 20.2% | 51.8% |
| Linganore High Frederick | 1,647 | 16.7% | 50.8% |
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 Northern High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.9% | #32 of 203 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 15.7% | #59 of 206 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 86.7% | #17 of 206 ▲ 8 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,478 | #76 of 234 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.6:1 | #182 of 210 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.4% | #125 of 211 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 20.6% | #188 of 212 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.0% | #125 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
1,478
-5 (0%) vs 2020
+4% since 1990-91, when it was 1,418
Student : Teacher
18.6:1
was 18.5:1
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 | 1,478 | 79.7 | 18.6:1 | 21% (304) |
| 2023-24 | 1,511 | 82.7 | 18.3:1 | 20% (303) |
| 2022-23 | 1,493 | 82.7 | 18.1:1 | 17% (250) |
| 2020-21 | 1,483 | 80 | 18.5:1 | 11% (158) |
| 2017-18 | 1,463 | 80.4 | 18.2:1 | 11% (166) |
| 2015-16 | 1,484 | 80 | 18.6:1 | 12% (177) |
| 2010-11 | 1,571 | 88 | 17.9:1 | 11% (171) |
| 2000-01 | 1,584 | 75 | 21.1:1 | 4% (65) |
| 1990-91 | 1,418 | 64 | 22.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northern High.
Since 2017-18: students up 1% (1,463 to 1,478); teachers down 1% (80.4 to 79.7).
About Northern High
Northern High is a medium-sized high school that serves part of Owings, Maryland. A total of 1,478 students attend the school, which covers grades 9 through 12. Against the 1,185-student average for high schools in Maryland, enrollment here is 25% higher.
Northern High is part of Calvert County Public Schools, where 24 schools serve 14,849 students.
White students account for 69% of enrollment at Northern High. The remaining students are 11% Black, 10% multiracial, 7% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. The chance that two students picked at random at Northern High belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 49%.
At Northern High, 79.7 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 18.6:1. That ratio is over the 15.3:1 average for high schools in Maryland. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 21% of enrollment. The gap from the 32% average for public schools in Calvert County is 11 points.
The allk12 Grade for Northern High is B+. Compared with Maryland public high schools, the school scored higher than 72% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Northern High falls short of its prediction by 13.1 points. The model expects 62.0% for a school with its free or reduced-price lunch share in Maryland; the school's rate is 48.9%.
Among Calvert County residents, median household income is about $133,922, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 37%, and about 2% of people live in poverty. Northern High is one of 25 public schools in Calvert County, which together enroll about 14,849 students.
Nearest public school: Northern Middle, about 0.1 miles away. The five-mile area around Northern High holds 6 other public schools. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Northern High at 8th of 9.
Locale data from NCES put Northern High in rural territory close to an urban area (Rural: Fringe).
Enrollment at Northern High was 1,483 in 2020-21 and 1,478 in 2024-25, a change of less than 3%.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Northern High. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Calvert County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
94,313
Census ACS
Median income
$133,922
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
2%
Below federal line
Schools in county
25
14,849 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Calvert County Public Schools
- Huntingtown High SchoolHigh · 1,311 students
- Calvert HighHigh · 1,080 students
- Patuxent HighHigh · 928 students
- Northern MiddleMiddle · 745 students
- Windy Hill MiddleMiddle · 669 students
- Mount Harmony ElementaryElementary · 656 students
Other schools in Owings
- Northern MiddleMiddle · 745 students
- Windy Hill MiddleMiddle · 669 students
- Mount Harmony ElementaryElementary · 656 students
- Windy Hill ElementaryElementary · 598 students
Other Northern High schools
3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Northern High. Northern High is the largest of the 4.
- Northern HighDurham, NC · 1,281 students
- Northern High SchoolGRAND RAPIDS, MI · 1,088 students
- Northern High SchoolDillsburg, PA · 982 students
Nearby schools
- Northern Middle0.1 mi · 745
- Mount Harmony Elementary2.1 mi · 656
- Sunderland Elementary2.8 mi · 606
- Huntingtown Elementary4.6 mi · 475
- Windy Hill Elementary4.7 mi · 598
- Windy Hill Middle4.7 mi · 669
Frequently asked questions
About Northern HighHow large is Northern High?
Northern High enrolls approximately 1,478 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Northern High serve?
Northern High serves grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Northern High?
Approximately 18.6:1 students per teacher at Northern High.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Northern High?
At Northern High, the student body is approximately 69% White, 7% Hispanic, 11% Black, 2% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Northern High public or private?
Northern High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Calvert County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.