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What's the most underrated thing about Watkins Mill High that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,577
High
DISTRICT 2,003 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240048001525
Watkins Mill High
10301 Apple Ridge Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20879 · (301) 284-4400 · Montgomery County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,577 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 4% of Maryland public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
114 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
52%
815 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 54%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 522 | 33% |
| Grade 10 | 401 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 323 | 20% |
| Grade 12 | 331 | 21% |
Student demographics
57%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
43.6%
MD avg 50.6% . +8.8pp since 2023
Math
10.0%
MD avg 34.8% . +0.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 44 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 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 9 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 43.6% | 10.0% |
| 2023-24 | 34.8% | 10.0% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of MD schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
24.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.6%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-19.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 25% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 44% typical for Maryland schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Watkins Mill High
Watkins Mill High's state test result (24.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watkins Mill High this school | 1,577 | 51.7% | 24.6% |
| John F. Kennedy High Silver Spring | 1,880 | 56.0% | 23.8% |
| Northwood High Rockville | 1,654 | 58.4% | 30.1% |
| Gaithersburg High Gaithersburg | 2,441 | 55.7% | 27.0% |
| Rockville High Rockville | 1,550 | 46.7% | 37.6% |
| Wheaton High Silver Spring | 2,794 | 56.6% | 31.9% |
Matched among Maryland high 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 Watkins Mill High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 24.6% | #160 of 203 | #24 of 25 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.0% | #186 of 206 ▼ 6 | #25 of 25 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.6% | #153 of 206 ▲ 13 | #24 of 25 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,577 | #67 of 234 | #22 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.8:1 | #28 of 210 | #1 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.1% | #98 of 211 | #23 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 51.7% | #103 of 212 | #8 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.0% | #44 of 76 | #4 of 7 |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,577
-20 (-1%) vs 2020
+24% since 1990-91, when it was 1,273
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
was 14.1:1
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 | 1,577 | 114.1 | 13.8:1 | 52% (815) |
| 2023-24 | 1,661 | 120.8 | 13.8:1 | 53% (885) |
| 2022-23 | 1,715 | 116 | 14.8:1 | 75% (1,278) |
| 2020-21 | 1,597 | 113 | 14.1:1 | 62% (991) |
| 2017-18 | 1,660 | 113.4 | 14.6:1 | 51% (839) |
| 2015-16 | 1,524 | 96 | 15.9:1 | 51% (783) |
| 2010-11 | 1,558 | 100 | 15.6:1 | 43% (670) |
| 2000-01 | 1,950 | 109 | 17.9:1 | 12% (237) |
| 1990-91 | 1,273 | 70 | 18.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Watkins Mill High.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (1,660 to 1,577); teachers up 1% (113.4 to 114.1).
About Watkins Mill High
Watkins Mill High is a medium-sized high school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, administered by Montgomery County Public Schools. Enrolled students number 1,577 students, in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment is 33% higher than the average for high schools in Maryland, which is about 1,185.
A total of 208 schools make up Montgomery County Public Schools, with 159,181 students enrolled.
Watkins Mill High's enrollment is 61% Hispanic. Other groups include 23% Black, 8% Asian, 5% White, and 3% multiracial. By comparison, Montgomery County residents are about 21% Hispanic. The chance that two students picked at random at Watkins Mill High belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 57%.
The school employs the equivalent of 114.1 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 13.8:1. Among high schools in Maryland, the typical ratio is 15.3:1. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 52%. On average, public schools in Montgomery County report 40%.
allk12 grades Watkins Mill High an F. The grade compares the school only with Maryland public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Watkins Mill High would score about 43.6%. It scores 24.6%, a bottom-10% result among Maryland schools on BeatsExpectations.
In Montgomery County (population about 1,065,949), median household income is about $132,450, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 61%, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Watkins Mill High is one of 211 public schools in Montgomery County, which together enroll about 159,181 students.
The nearest public school is Stedwick Elementary, at about 0.7 miles. Watkins Mill High has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Watkins Mill High comes in 8th of 9 nearby schools on average proficiency.
Watkins Mill High has an NCES locale of Suburb: Large.
Over 4 years, enrollment stayed close to where it was, going from 1,597 to 1,577.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Watkins Mill High covering things like school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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 Gaithersburg
- Gaithersburg HighHigh · 2,441 students
- Quince Orchard HighHigh · 2,100 students
- Lakelands Park MiddleMiddle · 993 students
- Gaithersburg MiddleMiddle · 869 students
- Forest Oak MiddleMiddle · 828 students
- South Lake ElementaryElementary · 746 students
Nearby schools
- Stedwick Elementary0.7 mi · 492
- Montgomery Village Middle0.9 mi · 780
- Captain James E. Daly Elementary0.9 mi · 472
- Watkins Mill Elementary1.2 mi · 734
- Whetstone Elementary1.3 mi · 711
- Neelsville Middle1.5 mi · 781
Frequently asked questions
About Watkins Mill HighWhat is the total enrollment at Watkins Mill High?
Watkins Mill High enrolls approximately 1,577 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Watkins Mill High serve?
Watkins Mill High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Watkins Mill High?
Approximately 13.8:1 students per teacher at Watkins Mill High.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Watkins Mill High?
At Watkins Mill High, the student body is approximately 5% White, 61% Hispanic, 23% Black, 8% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Watkins Mill High?
Watkins Mill High is overseen by Montgomery County Public Schools in Montgomery County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.