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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Piney Branch Elementary this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
575
Elementary
DISTRICT 514 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240048000894
Piney Branch Elementary
7510 Maple Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912 · (240) 740-7780 · Montgomery County
GRADES 03–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL575 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% of Maryland public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.9:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
35%
200 students
DISTRICT 40% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 186 | 32% |
| Grade 4 | 193 | 34% |
| Grade 5 | 196 | 34% |
Student demographics
69%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
65.6%
MD avg 50.6% . -3.6pp since 2023
Math
65.2%
MD avg 34.8% . +0.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 65.6% | 65.2% |
| 2023-24 | 69.2% | 65.0% |
% 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
66.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
53.6%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 54% 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 Piney Branch Elementary
Piney Branch Elementary's state test result (66.3% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piney Branch Elementary this school | 575 | 34.8% | 66.3% |
| Takoma Park Elementary Takoma Park | 559 | 36.7% | N/A |
| T. C. Martin Elementary School Bryantown | 538 | 37.0% | 52.6% |
| Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School La Plata | 663 | 36.3% | 49.6% |
| Yellow Springs Elementary Frederick | 628 | 32.0% | 57.0% |
| Thomas Johnson Elementary/Middle Baltimore | 532 | 40.4% | 61.2% |
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 Piney Branch Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.3% | #136 of 853 | #42 of 131 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 65.2% | #145 of 853 ▼ 14 | #39 of 131 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.6% | #206 of 853 ▼ 70 | #48 of 131 ▼ 8 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 575 | #246 of 898 | #45 of 139 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.8:1 | #780 of 857 | #128 of 136 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.3% | #198 of 857 | #61 of 136 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 34.8% | #668 of 885 | #81 of 137 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.9% | #274 of 551 | #44 of 97 |
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
575
-51 (-8%) vs 2020
+11% since 1990-91, when it was 520
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
was 16.5:1
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 | 575 | 34.2 | 16.8:1 | 35% (200) |
| 2023-24 | 599 | 35.9 | 16.7:1 | 34% (204) |
| 2022-23 | 599 | 38.7 | 15.5:1 | 38% (225) |
| 2020-21 | 626 | 38 | 16.5:1 | 32% (202) |
| 2017-18 | 660 | 37.2 | 17.7:1 | 32% (208) |
| 2015-16 | 563 | 30 | 18.8:1 | 34% (190) |
| 2010-11 | 475 | 28 | 17.0:1 | 30% (144) |
| 2000-01 | 550 | 37 | 14.9:1 | 42% (229) |
| 1990-91 | 520 | 34 | 15.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Piney Branch Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 13% (660 to 575); teachers down 8% (37.2 to 34.2).
About Piney Branch Elementary
Piney Branch Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school located in Takoma Park, Maryland. Enrollment totals 575 students across grades 3 through 5.
Piney Branch Elementary is part of Montgomery County Public Schools, where 208 schools serve 159,181 students.
White students make up 44% of enrollment at Piney Branch Elementary, the largest share of any group. The next largest groups are 27% Black, 18% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, and 2% Asian. That is in line with Montgomery County, where about 42% of residents are White. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 69, compared with 70 nationally.
Its ratio of 16.8:1 is based on 34.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. Elementary schools in Maryland average 13.8:1, 3.0 fewer students per teacher than here. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 35%.
Piney Branch Elementary holds an A allk12 Grade, placing it above 87% of Maryland public elementary schools.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Piney Branch Elementary is 53.6%, and its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 66.3%.
The school is in Montgomery County, where the median household earns about $132,450 a year, about 61% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 5%. Piney Branch Elementary shares Montgomery County with 210 other public schools.
Among nearby public schools, Takoma Park Elementary is closest at about 0.2 miles. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. The school's 66.3% average proficiency ranks 1st among 4 nearby schools.
Federal data place Piney Branch Elementary in the Suburb: Large locale, which means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 575, down from 626 in 2020-21.
This page collects posts and questions about Piney Branch Elementary, such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. 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 Takoma Park
- Rolling Terrace ElementaryElementary · 645 students
- Takoma Park ElementaryElementary · 559 students
- Carole Highlands ElementaryElementary · 544 students
Other Piney Branch Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Piney Branch Elementary. Piney Branch Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Piney Branch ElementaryBristow, VA · 760 students
Nearby schools
- Takoma Park Elementary0.2 mi · 559
- Takoma Park Middle0.3 mi · 1,177
- Breakthrough Montessori PCS0.7 mi · 383
- East Silver Spring Elementary0.8 mi · 540
- Takoma Elementary School0.9 mi · 483
- Rolling Terrace Elementary1.1 mi · 645
Frequently asked questions
About Piney Branch ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Piney Branch Elementary?
Piney Branch Elementary enrolls approximately 575 students in grades 03-05.
What age range does Piney Branch Elementary serve?
Piney Branch Elementary serves students from grade 03 through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Piney Branch Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Piney Branch Elementary is approximately 16.8:1 (34 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Piney Branch Elementary?
At Piney Branch Elementary, the student body is approximately 44% White, 18% Hispanic, 27% Black, 2% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Piney Branch Elementary public or private?
Piney Branch Elementary 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.