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If you had an hour of school board time for Preston Elementary School, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
381
Elementary
DISTRICT 533 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240018000524
Preston Elementary School
225 Main St, Preston, MD 21655 · (410) 479-2897 · Caroline County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL381 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 69% of Maryland public elementary schools
- BTest 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
13.6:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.5:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
229 students
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 54%
Community
1
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 | 47 | 12% |
| Kindergarten | 48 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 49 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 62 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 67 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 50 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 58 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (48) is 17% smaller than its 5th grade class (58).
Student demographics
47%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
47.7%
MD avg 50.6% . -1.9pp since 2023
Math
56.7%
MD avg 34.8% . +12.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 12 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 47.7% | 56.7% |
| 2023-24 | 49.6% | 44.3% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
49.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.6%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% 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 Preston Elementary School
Preston Elementary School's state test result (49.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preston Elementary School this school | 381 | 60.1% | 49.6% |
| Ridgely Elementary School Ridgely | 433 | 59.6% | 42.0% |
| Taneytown Elementary Taneytown | 450 | 60.0% | 48.0% |
| Perryville Elementary Perryville | 423 | 56.0% | 45.3% |
| Thurmont Primary Thurmont | 350 | 55.1% | N/A |
| Beall Elementary Frostburg | 415 | 61.0% | 48.0% |
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 Preston Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.6% | #341 of 853 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.7% | #224 of 853 ▲ 130 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.7% | #460 of 853 ▼ 90 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 381 | #632 of 898 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #382 of 857 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 46.7% | #562 of 857 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.1% | #403 of 885 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.5% | #479 of 551 |
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
381
+13 (+4%) vs 2020
-7% since 1990-91, when it was 411
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 12.7:1
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 | 381 | 28 | 13.6:1 | 60% (229) |
| 2023-24 | 396 | 28 | 14.1:1 | 55% (218) |
| 2022-23 | 406 | 29 | 14.0:1 | 60% (244) |
| 2020-21 | 368 | 29 | 12.7:1 | 53% (194) |
| 2017-18 | 395 | 27 | 14.6:1 | 48% (189) |
| 2015-16 | 391 | 25 | 15.6:1 | 48% (186) |
| 2010-11 | 436 | 27 | 16.1:1 | 41% (178) |
| 2000-01 | 404 | 22 | 18.4:1 | 38% (152) |
| 1990-91 | 411 | 19 | 21.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Preston Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (395 to 381); teachers up 4% (27 to 28).
About Preston Elementary School
Preston, Maryland, is home to Preston Elementary School, a small elementary school. It had 381 students in 2024-25, spanning pre-K through 5. By comparison, elementary schools in Maryland enroll about 481 students on average.
Within Caroline County Public Schools, Preston Elementary School is one of 9 schools. The district enrolls 5,648 students.
White students are 71% of those enrolled at Preston Elementary School. The rest of enrollment is 12% Hispanic, 8% Black, and 7% multiracial. That is in line with Caroline County, where about 73% of residents are White. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 47%.
Its ratio of 13.6:1 is based on 28 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among elementary schools in Maryland is similar, at 13.8:1. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 60%.
On the allk12 Grade, Preston Elementary School lands at B+, ahead of 69% of Maryland public elementary schools.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Preston Elementary School is +10.9 points: 49.6% actual, 38.6% predicted.
In the wider Caroline County area, median household income comes to about $68,457, 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of people live in poverty. Caroline County's 10 public schools enroll about 5,648 students and include Preston Elementary School.
Colonel Richardson High School is about 5.1 miles from Preston Elementary School, the shortest distance to any other public school. A ten-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. By average proficiency, Preston Elementary School is 2nd among 8 schools close by.
The school's locale code, Rural: Distant, means it is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment was 381 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 368.
On allk12, people connected to Preston Elementary School can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Caroline County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
33,669
Census ACS
Median income
$68,457
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
16%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
10
5,648 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Caroline County Public Schools
- North Caroline High SchoolHigh · 1,238 students
- Greensboro Elementary SchoolElementary · 840 students
- Lockerman Middle SchoolMiddle · 827 students
- Denton Elementary SchoolElementary · 596 students
- Colonel Richardson High SchoolHigh · 528 students
- Ridgely Elementary SchoolElementary · 433 students
Other Preston Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Preston Elementary. Preston Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Preston Elementary SchoolPreston, OK · 392 students
- Preston Elementary SchoolCuyahoga Falls, OH · 240 students
Nearby schools
- Colonel Richardson High School5.1 mi · 528
- Colonel Richardson Middle School5.2 mi · 390
- Hurlock Elementary School6.0 mi · 391
- Federalsburg Elementary School6.9 mi · 415
- Warwick Elementary School7.3 mi · 346
- North Dorchester High School8.7 mi · 526
Frequently asked questions
About Preston Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Preston Elementary School?
Preston Elementary School enrolls approximately 381 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Preston Elementary School serve?
Preston Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Preston Elementary School have?
Preston Elementary School employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.6:1.
How diverse is Preston Elementary School?
Preston Elementary School reports a student body of 71% White, 12% Hispanic, 8% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Preston Elementary School?
Preston Elementary School is overseen by Caroline County Public Schools in Caroline County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.