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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Phelps Luck Elementary administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
681
Elementary
DISTRICT 614 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240042000749
Phelps Luck Elementary
5370 Oldstone Ct, Columbia, MD 21045 · (410) 313-6886 · Howard County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL681 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.7:1
58 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
317 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 40 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 109 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 105 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 122 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 111 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 96 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 98 | 14% |
Student demographics
75%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
54.8%
MD avg 50.6% . +4.5pp since 2023
Math
49.6%
MD avg 34.8% . -2.9pp 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 50 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 54.8% | 49.6% |
| 2023-24 | 50.3% | 52.5% |
% 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
51.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.7%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% 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 →
Where Phelps Luck Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Howard County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 51.8% | #320 of 853 | #27 of 42 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.6% | #300 of 853 | #26 of 42 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.8% | #358 of 853 | #29 of 42 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 681 | #114 of 898 | #15 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.7:1 | #144 of 857 | #11 of 42 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 74.5% | #42 of 857 | #5 of 42 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 46.5% | #559 of 885 | #9 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +16.8% | #93 of 294 | #3 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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
681
+56 (+9%) vs 2020
+38% since 1990-91, when it was 494
Student : Teacher
11.7:1
was 10.6:1
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 | 681 | 58.3 | 11.7:1 | 47% (317) |
| 2023-24 | 704 | 61.5 | 11.4:1 | 47% (329) |
| 2022-23 | 746 | 60.1 | 12.4:1 | 50% (370) |
| 2020-21 | 625 | 59 | 10.6:1 | 40% (253) |
| 2017-18 | 583 | 62.8 | 9.3:1 | 55% (319) |
| 2015-16 | 626 | 55 | 11.4:1 | 64% (398) |
| 2010-11 | 666 | 51 | 13.1:1 | 43% (289) |
| 2000-01 | 576 | 42 | 13.7:1 | 31% (179) |
| 1990-91 | 494 | 27 | 18.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Phelps Luck Elementary.
About Phelps Luck Elementary
Phelps Luck Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Columbia, Maryland. A total of 681 students attend the school, which covers pre-K through 5. Against the 481-student average for elementary schools in Maryland, enrollment here is 42% higher.
Besides Phelps Luck Elementary, Howard County Public Schools runs 76 other schools. The district enrolls 57,565 students.
Federal enrollment data show Hispanic students as the largest group at Phelps Luck Elementary, at 33%. Other reported shares: 28% White, 24% Black, 8% Asian, and 7% multiracial. Howard County's residents are about 9% Hispanic, 24 points below the school's share. Pick two students at random and there is a 75% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The teaching staff at Phelps Luck Elementary is 58.3 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 11.7:1. This ratio sits 2.2 below the 13.8:1 average for elementary schools in Maryland. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 47%. The gap from the 27% average for public schools in Howard County is 20 points.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Phelps Luck Elementary would be expected to post about 46.7%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 51.8%.
In Howard County (population about 336,328), the median household income is $149,763, roughly 65% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 4%. There are 78 public schools in Howard County, enrolling about 57,565 students in all.
The nearest other public school, Howard High, is about 0.4 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Phelps Luck Elementary ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
The school's locale code, City: Mid-size, means it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Enrollment is up 9% from 2020-21, when Phelps Luck Elementary had 625 students, to 2024-25, when it had 681. Its ratio of students to teachers was 10.6:1 in 2020-21, and 11.7:1 in 2024-25.
To ask about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs, start a discussion on this page. 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 Columbia
- Atholton HighHigh · 1,540 students
- Oakland Mills HighHigh · 1,413 students
- Long Reach HighHigh · 1,334 students
- Wilde Lake HighHigh · 1,197 students
- Hammond HighHigh · 1,159 students
- Waterloo ElementaryElementary · 666 students
Nearby schools
- Howard High0.4 mi · 1,493
- Thunder Hill Elementary1.0 mi · 459
- Long Reach High1.2 mi · 1,334
- Jeffers Hill Elementary1.2 mi · 406
- Oakland Mills High1.5 mi · 1,413
- Talbott Springs Elementary1.5 mi · 461
Frequently asked questions
About Phelps Luck ElementaryHow many students attend Phelps Luck Elementary?
Phelps Luck Elementary enrolls approximately 681 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Phelps Luck Elementary serve?
Phelps Luck Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Phelps Luck Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Phelps Luck Elementary is approximately 11.7:1 (58 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Phelps Luck Elementary?
Student demographics at Phelps Luck Elementary are roughly 28% White, 33% Hispanic, 24% Black, 8% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Phelps Luck Elementary?
Phelps Luck Elementary is overseen by Howard County Public Schools in Howard County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.