These Are The Best School Districts In Maryland, New Ranking Says

MARYLAND — Howard County Public Schools has been ranked as the best in Maryland in Niche’s 2024 Best Schools and Districts rankings, which was released this week.

The Howard County school district was among 24 school districts in Maryland included in Niche’s ranking of 12,192 school districts nationwide. The list includes 364 newly ranked school districts.

Niche gave Howard County Public Schools a letter grade of A+. Grades in specific categories were:

• Academics: A
• Teachers: A-
• Clubs and activities: A
• Sports: A
• Resources and facilities: B+
• Diversity: A
• College prep: A+
• Administration: A
• Food: C

The school district has 57,325 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 13 to 1. Howard County spends $18,394 per student, while the national average is $12,239 per student.

The average graduation rate in Howard County is 93 percent, and the average SAT score is 1290. Popular college destinations for students in Howard County are the University of Maryland at College Park, Towson University, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, Howard Community College and Johns Hopkins University.

The average annual teacher salary in Howard County is $85,233. Teachers in their first or second year represent 9.2 percent of the teachers in the school district.

For more information, read the full report on Howard County Public Schools.

The top 24 school districts in Maryland and the letter grades assigned by Niche include:

1. Howard County Public Schools, A+
2. Montgomery County Public Schools, A
3. Worcester County Public Schools, A
4. Carroll County Public Schools, A
5. Calvert County Public Schools, A-
6. Harford County Public Schools, A-
7. Frederick County Public Schools, A-
8. Queen Anne's County Public Schools, A-
9. St. Mary's County Public Schools, A-
10. Washington County Public Schools, B+
11. Anne Arundel County Public Schools, B
12. Baltimore County Public Schools, B
13. Wicomico County Public Schools, B
14. Charles County Public Schools, B
15. Talbot County Public Schools, B
16. Caroline County Public Schools, B
17. Cecil County Public Schools, B-
18. Allegany County Public Schools, B-
19. Garrett County Public Schools, B-
20. Kent County Public Schools, C+
21. Baltimore City Public Schools, C+
22. Somerset County Public Schools, C
23. Dorchester County Public Schools, C
24. Prince George's County Public Schools, C

Niche also ranked 94,058 public schools and 30,809 private schools. The platform said its rankings were created to provide families with valuable information — both quantitative and qualitative — on schools in their area or in a neighborhood they’re not familiar with yet.

Poolesville High School, the highest ranked Maryland public high school, ranked 25th nationally. Montgomery County Public Schools had 11 high schools in the top 25 public high schools in Maryland, according to Niche, while Howard County Public Schools was next with seven high schools in the top 25.

The rankings differ from others that rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance in that it also includes input from students, alumni and parents, as well as quantitative data from sources such as the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities.

RELATED: These Are The Top 25 Public High Schools In Maryland, New Ranking Says

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