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What's the biggest difference between Northwestern High and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,396
High
DISTRICT 1,588 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240051001114
Northwestern High
7000 Adelphi Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20782 · (301) 985-1820 · Prince George's County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,396 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 52% of Maryland public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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
15.7:1
153 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.6:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
96%
2,309 students
DISTRICT 79% · 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 | 769 | 32% |
| Grade 10 | 606 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 529 | 22% |
| Grade 12 | 492 | 21% |
Student demographics
42%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · 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
42.6%
MD avg 50.6% . +7.9pp since 2023
Math
10.0%
MD avg 34.8% . +0.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 43 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 8 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.6% | 10.0% |
| 2023-24 | 34.7% | 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
24.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
17.2%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 24% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 17% 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 Northwestern High
Northwestern High's state test result (24.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern High this school | 2,396 | 96.4% | 24.3% |
| Bladensburg High Bladensburg | 2,114 | 97.0% | 24.5% |
| Parkdale High Riverdale | 2,588 | 96.8% | 23.2% |
| High Point High Beltsville | 3,012 | 95.6% | 22.6% |
| Laurel High Laurel | 2,129 | 95.7% | 27.6% |
| Duval High Lanham | 2,522 | 95.9% | 32.0% |
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 Northwestern High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Prince George's County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 24.3% | #165 of 203 | #17 of 25 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.0% | #195 of 206 ▼ 4 | #20 of 25 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.6% | #157 of 206 ▲ 10 | #13 of 25 ▲ 5 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,396 | #12 of 234 | #7 of 25 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #81 of 210 | #9 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 41.9% | #150 of 211 | #15 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.4% | #5 of 212 | #4 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.4% | #61 of 76 | #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
2,396
+83 (+4%) vs 2020
+31% since 1990-91, when it was 1,825
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 15.3:1
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 | 2,396 | 153 | 15.7:1 | 96% (2,309) |
| 2023-24 | 2,381 | 143 | 16.6:1 | 79% (1,887) |
| 2022-23 | 2,346 | 142 | 16.5:1 | 80% (1,866) |
| 2020-21 | 2,313 | 151 | 15.3:1 | 77% (1,783) |
| 2017-18 | 2,454 | 145 | 16.9:1 | 78% (1,903) |
| 2015-16 | 2,228 | 150 | 14.8:1 | 68% (1,505) |
| 2010-11 | 2,457 | 131 | 18.8:1 | 60% (1,481) |
| 2000-01 | 2,222 | 115 | 19.3:1 | 47% (1,036) |
| 1990-91 | 1,825 | 100 | 18.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northwestern High.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (2,454 to 2,396); teachers up 6% (145 to 153).
About Northwestern High
Northwestern High is a high-enrollment high school in Hyattsville, Maryland, under Prince George's County Public Schools. Its enrollment is 2,396 students, spread over grades 9 through 12. Across high schools in Maryland, the average enrollment is about 1,185.
The district, Prince George's County Public Schools, operates 199 schools serving 132,693 students.
Hispanic students are 73% of those enrolled at Northwestern High. Next come 21% Black and 4% White. That compares with about 23% Hispanic among all Prince George's County residents. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 42%.
Northwestern High has 153 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of about 15.7:1. The average for high schools in Maryland is about 15.3:1. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, often used to gauge student poverty, is 96%. That rate is above the 79% average among public schools in Prince George's County.
Among Maryland public high schools, Northwestern High outscored 52%, which works out to a B- on the allk12 Grade.
Schools in Maryland with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 17.2%. Northwestern High scores 24.3%.
For Prince George's County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $101,798 a year, 37% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Counting Northwestern High, Prince George's County has 203 public schools.
University Park Elementary is about 0.7 miles away, making it the nearest public school. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Northwestern High's average proficiency of 24.3% compares with 29.6% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Northwestern High has an NCES locale of Suburb: Large.
The school's student count increased 4% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years.
Anyone can start a thread about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at Northwestern High. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Prince George's County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
959,754
Census ACS
Median income
$101,798
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
203
132,693 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Prince George's County Public Schools
- High Point HighHigh · 3,012 students
- Charles Herbert Flowers HighHigh · 2,712 students
- Parkdale HighHigh · 2,588 students
- Bowie HighHigh · 2,580 students
- Eleanor Roosevelt HighHigh · 2,544 students
- Duval HighHigh · 2,522 students
Other schools in Hyattsville
- Hyattsville MiddleMiddle · 1,305 students
- Ellen Ochoa MiddleMiddle · 1,086 students
- Nicholas Orem MiddleMiddle · 1,007 students
- Langley Park-McCormick ElementaryElementary · 697 students
- Edward M. Felegy ESElementary · 641 students
- Ridgecrest ElementaryElementary · 631 students
Other Northwestern High schools
7 other US public schools in 8 states are named Northwestern High. Northwestern High is the largest of the 8.
- Northwestern HighRock Hill, SC · 1,822 students
- Northwestern HighMaple, WI · 372 students
- Northwestern High SchoolWest Salem, OH · 327 students
- Northwestern High SchoolDETROIT, MI · 305 students
- Northwestern High SchoolPalmyra, IL · 94 students
Nearby schools
- University Park Elementary0.7 mi · 538
- Lewisdale Elementary0.7 mi · 533
- Nicholas Orem Middle0.8 mi · 1,007
- Edward M. Felegy ES0.9 mi · 641
- Hyattsville Middle1.1 mi · 1,305
- Rosa L. Parks Elementary1.1 mi · 607
Frequently asked questions
About Northwestern HighHow many students attend Northwestern High?
Northwestern High enrolls approximately 2,396 students in grades 09-12.
Is Northwestern High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Northwestern High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Northwestern High?
Approximately 15.7:1 students per teacher at Northwestern High.
How diverse is Northwestern High?
Northwestern High reports a student body of 4% White, 73% Hispanic, 21% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Northwestern High?
Northwestern High is overseen by Prince George's County Public Schools in Prince George's County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.