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What do students at Running Brook Elementary actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
407
Elementary
DISTRICT 614 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240042000751
Running Brook Elementary
5215 W Running Brook Rd, Columbia, MD 21044 · (410) 313-6893 · Howard County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL407 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 33% of Maryland public elementary 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
9.5:1
43 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
53%
215 students
DISTRICT 29% · STATE 54%
Community
4
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 | 58 | 14% |
| Kindergarten | 48 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 67 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 56 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 65 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 64 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 49 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (48) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (49).
Student demographics
67%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
39.9%
MD avg 50.6% . -1.8pp since 2023
Math
37.8%
MD avg 34.8% . -1.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 40 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 38 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 down about 2 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 39.9% | 37.8% |
| 2023-24 | 41.7% | 39.4% |
% 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
39.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.0%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% 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 Running Brook Elementary
Running Brook Elementary's state test result (39.7% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running Brook Elementary this school | 407 | 52.8% | 39.7% |
| Bryant Woods Elementary Columbia | 366 | 51.1% | 45.9% |
| Guilford Elementary Columbia | 437 | 46.5% | 40.3% |
| Glenarden Woods Elementary Lanham | 516 | 47.3% | 90.1% |
| Cradlerock Elementary Columbia | 453 | 55.6% | 34.8% |
| Jeffers Hill Elementary Columbia | 406 | 44.1% | 41.6% |
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 Running Brook Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Howard County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.7% | #475 of 853 | #40 of 42 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 37.8% | #468 of 853 ▼ 56 | #36 of 42 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.9% | #567 of 853 ▼ 87 | #41 of 42 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 407 | #582 of 898 | #37 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.5:1 | #9 of 857 | #1 of 42 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.3% | #255 of 857 | #36 of 42 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 52.8% | #496 of 885 | #7 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.1% | #174 of 551 | #7 of 26 |
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
407
+5 (+1%) vs 2020
+14% since 1990-91, when it was 356
Student : Teacher
9.5:1
was 8.7:1
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 | 407 | 42.7 | 9.5:1 | 53% (215) |
| 2023-24 | 389 | 43.3 | 9.0:1 | 50% (196) |
| 2022-23 | 399 | 46 | 8.7:1 | 51% (203) |
| 2020-21 | 402 | 46 | 8.7:1 | 47% (187) |
| 2017-18 | 497 | 51 | 9.8:1 | 44% (220) |
| 2015-16 | 510 | 49 | 10.4:1 | 52% (263) |
| 2010-11 | 418 | 42 | 9.9:1 | 42% (177) |
| 2000-01 | 303 | 34 | 8.9:1 | 48% (144) |
| 1990-91 | 356 | 25 | 14.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Running Brook Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (497 to 407); teachers down 16% (51 to 42.7).
About Running Brook Elementary
Running Brook Elementary is classified as an elementary school. It is located in Columbia, Maryland. Enrollment totals 407 students across pre-K through 5.
Howard County Public Schools oversees Running Brook Elementary and 76 other schools, with 57,565 students in total.
Of every 100 students at Running Brook Elementary, about 51 are Black. The school is also 16% White, 15% Hispanic, 9% Asian, and 7% multiracial. The Black share of the county population is lower, at 20%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Running Brook Elementary scores 67%.
On staff are 42.7 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 9.5:1. Elementary schools in Maryland average 13.8:1, 4.3 more students per teacher than here. Running Brook Elementary has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 53%. That is higher than the 27% average for public schools in Howard County.
Among Maryland public elementary schools, Running Brook Elementary outscored 33%, which works out to a C on the allk12 Grade.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Running Brook Elementary would be expected to post about 43.0%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 39.7%.
In the surrounding county, Howard County, median household income comes to about $149,763, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 65% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 4%. The county has 78 public schools and about 57,565 students.
Measured in a straight line, Bryant Woods Elementary is about 0.7 miles from Running Brook Elementary. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Its average proficiency rate of 39.7% is below the 41.9% average for nearby schools.
NCES lists the school's locale as City: Mid-size. That means it sits inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
There was little change in enrollment from 2020-21 (402) to 2024-25 (407).
Use the discussion section to ask about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Running Brook Elementary. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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
- Phelps Luck ElementaryElementary · 681 students
Nearby schools
- Bryant Woods Elementary0.7 mi · 366
- Wilde Lake High1.2 mi · 1,197
- Thunder Hill Elementary1.2 mi · 459
- Longfellow Elementary1.3 mi · 446
- Wilde Lake Middle1.3 mi · 643
- Talbott Springs Elementary1.3 mi · 461
Frequently asked questions
About Running Brook ElementaryHow large is Running Brook Elementary?
Running Brook Elementary enrolls approximately 407 students in grades PK-05.
Is Running Brook Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Running Brook Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Running Brook Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Running Brook Elementary is approximately 9.5:1 (43 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Running Brook Elementary?
At Running Brook Elementary, the student body is approximately 16% White, 15% Hispanic, 51% Black, 9% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Running Brook Elementary?
Running Brook 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.