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What's the best and worst thing about the food at Swansfield Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
594
Elementary
DISTRICT 614 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240042000755
Swansfield Elementary
5610 Cedar Ln, Columbia, MD 21044 · (410) 313-6907 · Howard County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL594 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 59% of Maryland public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-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
11.4:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
227 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 | 59 | 10% |
| Kindergarten | 82 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 87 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 79 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 113 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 87 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 87 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (82) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (87).
Student demographics
73%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
61.1%
MD avg 50.6% . +12.7pp since 2023
Math
56.6%
MD avg 34.8% . +5.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 61 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 up about 13 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.1% | 56.6% |
| 2023-24 | 48.4% | 51.2% |
% 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
54.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.6%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% 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 Swansfield Elementary
Swansfield Elementary's state test result (54.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swansfield Elementary this school | 594 | 38.2% | 54.3% |
| Summit Park Elementary Baltimore | 520 | 41.7% | 62.5% |
| Woodlin Elementary Silver Spring | 603 | 36.2% | 61.9% |
| Waterloo Elementary Columbia | 666 | 32.1% | 67.9% |
| Whitehall Elementary Bowie | 485 | 37.9% | 55.8% |
| Stonegate Elementary Silver Spring | 565 | 34.5% | 56.4% |
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 Swansfield Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Howard County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.3% | #282 of 853 | #25 of 42 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.6% | #228 of 853 ▲ 47 | #23 of 42 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.1% | #277 of 853 ▲ 114 | #24 of 42 ▲ 8 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 594 | #219 of 898 | #25 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.4:1 | #115 of 857 | #9 of 42 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 73.1% | #80 of 857 | #15 of 42 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 38.2% | #634 of 885 | #17 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.3% | #424 of 551 | #17 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
594
+93 (+19%) vs 2020
-5% since 1990-91, when it was 627
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
was 10.9:1
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 | 594 | 51.9 | 11.4:1 | 38% (227) |
| 2023-24 | 602 | 52.9 | 11.4:1 | 40% (238) |
| 2022-23 | 592 | 47.4 | 12.5:1 | 41% (243) |
| 2020-21 | 501 | 46 | 10.9:1 | 39% (196) |
| 2017-18 | 634 | 50 | 12.7:1 | 54% (341) |
| 2015-16 | 637 | 47 | 13.6:1 | 47% (300) |
| 2010-11 | 560 | 44 | 12.7:1 | 36% (199) |
| 2000-01 | 589 | 41 | 14.4:1 | 30% (178) |
| 1990-91 | 627 | 37 | 16.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Swansfield Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (634 to 594); teachers up 4% (50 to 51.9).
About Swansfield Elementary
Swansfield Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Columbia, Maryland. School enrollment was 594 students in 2024-25, in pre-K through 5. For comparison, elementary schools in Maryland average about 481 students.
Howard County Public Schools runs 77 schools with a combined 57,565 students. Swansfield Elementary is one of them.
Swansfield Elementary has no majority group; Black students are the largest, at 39%. The rest of enrollment is 28% White, 13% Hispanic, 11% Asian, and 9% multiracial. Census estimates put the Black share of Howard County's population at about 20%. The school's diversity index is 73%, meaning two students picked at random have a 73% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Teacher staffing is 51.9 full-time equivalents, or about 11.4 students per teacher. On average, elementary schools in Maryland have 13.8:1, compared with 11.4:1 here. About 38% of students, or 227, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. It compares with 27% for public schools in Howard County.
Measured against Maryland public elementary schools, Swansfield Elementary receives a B. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Swansfield Elementary falls in the middle 80% of Maryland schools: 54.3% actual against 51.6% predicted.
Howard County census figures show that the median household income is $149,763, about 65% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Howard County is home to 78 public schools and about 57,565 public school students.
The next-closest public school is Harpers Choice Middle, about 0.5 miles away. Swansfield Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Swansfield Elementary at 2nd of 8.
Under the NCES locale system, Swansfield Elementary is City: Mid-size.
2024-25 enrollment was 594, a 19% increase from 501 in 2020-21.
Community posts for Swansfield Elementary can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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
- Harpers Choice Middle0.5 mi · 471
- Wilde Lake Middle0.6 mi · 643
- Longfellow Elementary0.8 mi · 446
- Wilde Lake High0.8 mi · 1,197
- Bryant Woods Elementary1.2 mi · 366
- Homewood School1.4 mi · 109
Frequently asked questions
About Swansfield ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Swansfield Elementary?
Swansfield Elementary enrolls approximately 594 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Swansfield Elementary serve?
Swansfield Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Swansfield Elementary?
Approximately 11.4:1 students per teacher at Swansfield Elementary.
How diverse is Swansfield Elementary?
Swansfield Elementary reports a student body of 28% White, 13% Hispanic, 39% Black, 11% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Is Swansfield Elementary public or private?
Swansfield Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Howard County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.