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What's something Piney Ridge Elementary does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
578
Elementary
DISTRICT 527 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CARROLL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240021090466
Piney Ridge Elementary
6315 Freedom Avenue, Sykesville, MD 21784 · (410) 751-3535 · Carroll County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL578 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 94% 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.
- 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
37 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.4:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
21%
119 students
DISTRICT 31% · 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 | 20 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 81 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 87 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 104 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 85 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 107 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 94 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (81) is 14% smaller than its 5th grade class (94).
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 40% · 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
78.2%
MD avg 50.6% . +3.9pp since 2023
Math
73.5%
MD avg 34.8% . -4.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 78 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 74 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 5 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 78.2% | 73.5% |
| 2023-24 | 74.3% | 78.3% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MD schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
76.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.0%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 76% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 62% typical for Maryland schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 14 points, placing it in Maryland's top 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 Ridge Elementary
Piney Ridge Elementary's state test result (76.1% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piney Ridge Elementary this school | 578 | 20.6% | 76.1% |
| Emmorton Elementary Bel Air | 584 | 22.6% | 71.8% |
| Timonium Elementary Timonium | 445 | 20.0% | 77.8% |
| Westchester Elementary Baltimore | 662 | 26.6% | 59.2% |
| Poolesville Elementary Poolesville | 576 | 16.5% | 68.7% |
| Lisbon Elementary Woodbine | 480 | 14.4% | 62.6% |
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 Ridge Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Carroll County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 76.1% | #52 of 853 | #2 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 73.5% | #64 of 853 ▼ 30 | #6 of 21 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 78.2% | #69 of 853 ▲ 19 | #2 of 21 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 578 | #241 of 898 | #10 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #685 of 857 | #18 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 52.7% | #483 of 857 | #4 of 22 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 20.6% | #786 of 885 | #16 of 22 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +9.1% | #144 of 294 | #7 of 20 |
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
578
+40 (+7%) vs 2020
-15% since 2000-01, when it was 680
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
was 15.8:1
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 | 578 | 36.5 | 15.8:1 | 21% (119) |
| 2023-24 | 583 | 37.5 | 15.6:1 | 21% (123) |
| 2022-23 | 578 | 36.5 | 15.8:1 | 21% (120) |
| 2020-21 | 538 | 34 | 15.8:1 | 20% (110) |
| 2017-18 | 530 | 37.7 | 14.1:1 | 13% (70) |
| 2015-16 | 587 | 39 | 15.1:1 | 15% (86) |
| 2010-11 | 599 | 40 | 15.0:1 | 11% (64) |
| 2000-01 | 680 | 34 | 20.0:1 | 6% (41) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Piney Ridge Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 9% (530 to 578); teachers down 3% (37.7 to 36.5).
About Piney Ridge Elementary
Located in Sykesville, Maryland, Piney Ridge Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 578 students in pre-K through 5. The average for elementary schools in Maryland is about 481 students, so this school is 20% larger than average.
Besides Piney Ridge Elementary, Carroll County Public Schools runs 42 other schools. The district enrolls 26,141 students.
A majority of students at Piney Ridge Elementary, 66%, are White. Other reported shares: 14% Asian, 8% Black, 7% Hispanic, and 4% multiracial. County-wide, 86% of Carroll County residents are White. Piney Ridge Elementary has a diversity index of 53%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school reported 36.5 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 15.8:1. For comparison, elementary schools in Maryland average 13.8:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 21%.
Measured against Maryland public elementary schools, Piney Ridge Elementary receives an A. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Piney Ridge Elementary is 14.1 points above expectations on state tests, given its student poverty level, placing it in the top 10% in Maryland.
Carroll County census figures show that median household income is about $118,211, 41% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Piney Ridge Elementary is among the 44 public schools in Carroll County.
The nearest public school is Eldersburg Elementary, at about 0.6 miles. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Piney Ridge Elementary is 2nd on average proficiency.
The school's federal locale classification is Town: Fringe.
Federal counts put enrollment at 538 in 2020-21 and 578 in 2024-25, a 7% rise.
Parents and students can post about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Piney Ridge Elementary. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Carroll County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
175,321
Census ACS
Median income
$118,211
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
44
26,141 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Carroll County Public Schools
- Westminster HighHigh · 1,477 students
- Manchester Valley HighHigh · 1,339 students
- Winters Mill HighHigh · 1,156 students
- Century HighHigh · 1,101 students
- Liberty HighHigh · 1,007 students
- South Carroll HighHigh · 933 students
Other schools in Sykesville
- Century HighHigh · 1,101 students
- Liberty HighHigh · 1,007 students
- South Carroll HighHigh · 933 students
- Oklahoma Road MiddleMiddle · 816 students
- Linton Springs ElementaryElementary · 759 students
- Sykesville MiddleMiddle · 697 students
Nearby schools
- Eldersburg Elementary0.6 mi · 470
- Liberty High1.0 mi · 1,007
- Carrolltowne Elementary1.6 mi · 593
- Freedom District Elementary1.6 mi · 627
- Oklahoma Road Middle1.6 mi · 816
- Sykesville Middle1.9 mi · 697
Frequently asked questions
About Piney Ridge ElementaryHow many students attend Piney Ridge Elementary?
Piney Ridge Elementary enrolls approximately 578 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Piney Ridge Elementary serve?
Piney Ridge Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Piney Ridge Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Piney Ridge Elementary is approximately 15.8:1 (37 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Piney Ridge Elementary?
Student demographics at Piney Ridge Elementary are roughly 66% White, 7% Hispanic, 8% Black, 14% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Piney Ridge Elementary?
Piney Ridge Elementary is overseen by Carroll County Public Schools in Carroll County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.