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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Northfield Elementary this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
764
Elementary
DISTRICT 614 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240042000744
Northfield Elementary
9125 Northfield Rd, Ellicott City, MD 21042 · (410) 313-2806 · Howard County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL764 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 82% of Maryland public elementary schools
- ATest 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
15.7:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
134 students
DISTRICT 29% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 112 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 126 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 138 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 123 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 130 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 135 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (112) is 17% smaller than its 5th grade class (135).
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 77% · 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
69.9%
MD avg 50.6% . -5.3pp since 2023
Math
62.1%
MD avg 34.8% . -12.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 70 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 62 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores are down about 5 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 12 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 69.9% | 62.1% |
| 2023-24 | 75.2% | 74.2% |
% 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
70.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.8%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 70% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 64% 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 Northfield Elementary
Northfield Elementary's state test result (70.3% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield Elementary this school | 764 | 17.5% | 70.3% |
| Farmland Elementary Rockville | 847 | 19.5% | 65.2% |
| Rockburn Elementary Elkridge | 649 | 12.3% | 79.2% |
| Sugarloaf Elementary Frederick | 845 | 12.2% | 68.9% |
| St. Johns Lane Elementary Ellicott City | 636 | 20.6% | 65.2% |
| Bells Mill Elementary Potomac | 570 | 14.9% | 82.3% |
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 Northfield Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Howard County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 70.3% | #97 of 853 | #14 of 42 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 62.1% | #171 of 853 ▼ 115 | #17 of 42 ▼ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.9% | #145 of 853 ▼ 62 | #13 of 42 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 764 | #52 of 898 | #9 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #663 of 857 | #41 of 42 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.1% | #145 of 857 | #23 of 42 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 17.5% | #812 of 885 | #28 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.1% | #255 of 294 | #14 of 15 |
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
764
+28 (+4%) vs 2020
+11% since 1990-91, when it was 688
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 15.7:1
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 | 764 | 48.8 | 15.7:1 | 18% (134) |
| 2023-24 | 749 | 48.6 | 15.4:1 | 15% (114) |
| 2022-23 | 747 | 49.6 | 15.1:1 | 15% (113) |
| 2020-21 | 736 | 47 | 15.7:1 | 7% (49) |
| 2017-18 | 748 | 49.4 | 15.1:1 | 6% (47) |
| 2015-16 | 702 | 46 | 15.3:1 | 5% (35) |
| 2010-11 | 607 | 40 | 15.2:1 | 5% (29) |
| 2000-01 | 634 | 40 | 15.8:1 | 2% (11) |
| 1990-91 | 688 | 38 | 18.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northfield Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 2% (748 to 764); teachers down 1% (49.4 to 48.8).
About Northfield Elementary
Northfield Elementary is a large elementary school serving families in Ellicott City, Maryland. A federal count lists 764 students at the school, in kindergarten through 5. Average enrollment for elementary schools in Maryland is about 481, so this school runs 59% bigger than that.
Howard County Public Schools runs Northfield Elementary along with 76 other schools, enrolling 57,565 students in total.
The most common group at Northfield Elementary is White students, at 42%. The school is also 29% Asian, 10% multiracial, 10% Hispanic, and 9% Black. The school's diversity index is 71%, meaning two students picked at random have a 71% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Staffing totals 48.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 15.7:1. That is higher than the 13.8:1 average for elementary schools in Maryland. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 18%. The gap from the 27% average for public schools in Howard County is 9 points.
Northfield Elementary is graded A- by allk12, scoring above 82% of Maryland public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Northfield Elementary falls in the middle 80% of Maryland schools: 70.3% actual against 63.8% predicted.
In Howard County (population about 336,328), the median household income is $149,763, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 65% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 4%. There are 78 public schools in Howard County, enrolling about 57,565 students in all.
Dunloggin Middle is the closest public school, about 0.1 miles away in a straight line. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Northfield Elementary. Northfield Elementary places 3rd of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Locale data from NCES put Northfield Elementary in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large).
Enrollment grew 4% from its 2020-21 level of 736.
The Northfield Elementary community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Howard County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
336,328
Census ACS
Median income
$149,763
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
65%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
78
57,565 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Howard County Public Schools
- Marriotts Ridge HighHigh · 1,741 students
- Reservoir HighHigh · 1,597 students
- Atholton HighHigh · 1,540 students
- Howard HighHigh · 1,493 students
- Mount Hebron HighHigh · 1,455 students
- Oakland Mills HighHigh · 1,413 students
Other schools in Ellicott City
- Howard HighHigh · 1,493 students
- Mount Hebron HighHigh · 1,455 students
- Centennial HighHigh · 1,377 students
- Veterans ElementaryElementary · 883 students
- Waverly ElementaryElementary · 827 students
- Bellows Spring ElementaryElementary · 806 students
Other Northfield Elementary schools
6 other US public schools in 6 states are named Northfield Elementary. Northfield Elementary is the largest of the 7.
- Northfield ElementaryMurfreesboro, TN · 711 students
- Northfield Elementary SchoolNorthfield, OH · 348 students
- NORTHFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLGERING, NE · 299 students
- Northfield Elementary SchoolSparta, TN · 288 students
- Northfield Elementary SchoolNorthfield, VT · 263 students
Nearby schools
- Dunloggin Middle0.1 mi · 623
- Veterans Elementary0.9 mi · 883
- Ellicott Mills Middle1.2 mi · 698
- Centennial Lane Elementary1.8 mi · 749
- Thunder Hill Elementary1.9 mi · 459
- Burleigh Manor Middle2.0 mi · 777
Frequently asked questions
About Northfield ElementaryHow large is Northfield Elementary?
Northfield Elementary enrolls approximately 764 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Northfield Elementary serve?
Northfield Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Northfield Elementary?
Approximately 15.7:1 students per teacher at Northfield Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Northfield Elementary?
Student demographics at Northfield Elementary are roughly 42% White, 10% Hispanic, 9% Black, 29% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Northfield Elementary in?
Northfield Elementary is part of Howard County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.