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How has Paint Branch High changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,038
High
DISTRICT 2,003 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240048000890
Paint Branch High
14121 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD 20866 · (301) 388-9900 · Montgomery County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,038 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 33% 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.
- 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
15.6:1
131 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
52%
1,063 students
DISTRICT 40% · 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 | 569 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 556 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 504 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 409 | 20% |
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 75% · 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
54.5%
MD avg 50.6% . +5.9pp since 2023
Math
14.1%
MD avg 34.8% . +4.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 14 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 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 54.5% | 14.1% |
| 2023-24 | 48.6% | 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
31.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.4%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% 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 Paint Branch High
Paint Branch High's state test result (31.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paint Branch High this school | 2,038 | 52.2% | 31.8% |
| James Hubert Blake High Silver Spring | 1,960 | 53.7% | 30.9% |
| Meade High Ft Meade | 2,045 | 53.1% | 32.2% |
| Parkville High Baltimore | 1,877 | 56.1% | 23.3% |
| Bowie High Bowie | 2,580 | 52.8% | 36.6% |
| Oxon Hill High Oxon Hill | 1,562 | 57.7% | 38.5% |
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 Paint Branch High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.8% | #127 of 203 | #20 of 25 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 14.1% | #69 of 206 ▲ 102 | #8 of 25 ▲ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.5% | #121 of 206 ▲ 10 | #21 of 25 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,038 | #31 of 234 | #13 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.6:1 | #74 of 210 | #10 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 58.2% | #95 of 211 | #21 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 52.2% | #101 of 212 | #7 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.9% | #119 of 131 | #18 of 18 |
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
2,038
-26 (-1%) vs 2020
+50% since 1990-91, when it was 1,358
Student : Teacher
15.6:1
was 17.2:1
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 | 2,038 | 130.9 | 15.6:1 | 52% (1,063) |
| 2023-24 | 2,115 | 134.8 | 15.7:1 | 54% (1,139) |
| 2022-23 | 2,135 | 130.4 | 16.4:1 | 63% (1,355) |
| 2020-21 | 2,064 | 120 | 17.2:1 | 47% (963) |
| 2017-18 | 2,000 | 120.4 | 16.6:1 | 36% (710) |
| 2015-16 | 1,996 | 114 | 17.5:1 | 36% (726) |
| 2010-11 | 1,812 | 101 | 17.9:1 | 28% (511) |
| 2000-01 | 1,551 | 89 | 17.4:1 | 10% (160) |
| 1990-91 | 1,358 | 75 | 18.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Paint Branch High.
Since 2017-18: students up 2% (2,000 to 2,038); teachers up 9% (120.4 to 130.9).
About Paint Branch High
Paint Branch High is a high-enrollment high school in Burtonsville, Maryland, (ZIP code 20866). Its grade span covers grades 9 through 12, with 2,038 students on the rolls. That compares with an average of about 1,185 students for high schools in Maryland.
Montgomery County Public Schools (208 schools, 159,181 students) runs Paint Branch High.
Federal enrollment data show Paint Branch High is 58% Black. Other groups make up 27% Hispanic, 9% Asian, 3% White, and 2% multiracial. Montgomery County as a whole is about 19% Black, so the school's share is higher. A diversity index of 58% means there is a 58% chance two randomly chosen students at Paint Branch High are from different groups.
Its staff includes 130.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 15.6 students per teacher. The average for high schools in Maryland is about 15.3:1. Paint Branch High has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 52%. The average for public schools in Montgomery County is 40%.
Paint Branch High holds a C allk12 Grade, placing it above 33% of Maryland public high schools.
After adjusting for student poverty, Paint Branch High lands between the top and bottom 10% of Maryland schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 31.8%; the prediction is 43.4%.
In the wider Montgomery County area, the median household earns about $132,450 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 61% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. Paint Branch High shares Montgomery County with 210 other public schools.
About 0.5 miles separate Paint Branch High from the closest public school, Fairland Elementary. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 40.1%; Paint Branch High's is 31.8%, ranking 6th of 9.
Its location is classified as Suburb: Large by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 2,064 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 2,038. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 17.2:1; by 2024-25 it was 15.6:1.
On allk12, people connected to Paint Branch High can post about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Montgomery County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,065,949
Census ACS
Median income
$132,450
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
61%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
211
159,181 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Montgomery County Public Schools
- Montgomery Blair HighHigh · 3,266 students
- Walter Johnson HighHigh · 3,016 students
- Wheaton HighHigh · 2,794 students
- Gaithersburg HighHigh · 2,441 students
- Seneca Valley HighHigh · 2,409 students
- Bethesda-Chevy Chase HighHigh · 2,377 students
Other schools in Burtonsville
- Benjamin Banneker MiddleMiddle · 705 students
- Burtonsville ElementaryElementary · 601 students
Nearby schools
- Fairland Elementary0.5 mi · 553
- Greencastle Elementary0.5 mi · 722
- Benjamin Banneker Middle0.6 mi · 705
- JoAnn Leleck at Broad Acres Elementary1.0 mi · 756
- Galway Elementary1.6 mi · 695
- Burtonsville Elementary1.8 mi · 601
Frequently asked questions
About Paint Branch HighWhat is the total enrollment at Paint Branch High?
Paint Branch High enrolls approximately 2,038 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Paint Branch High serve?
Paint Branch High serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Paint Branch High have?
Paint Branch High employs 131 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.6:1.
How diverse is Paint Branch High?
Paint Branch High reports a student body of 3% White, 27% Hispanic, 58% Black, 9% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Paint Branch High public or private?
Paint Branch High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Montgomery County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.