The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Westmar Middle
Westmar Middle serves grades six through eight in Lonaconing, a small town in the Georges Creek Valley of western Maryland that was built around iron and coal mining and has been slowly shrinking ever since those industries left. The town’s historic downtown along Main Street still holds a few civic anchors—the Iron Furnace park, a library, a historic district listed on the National Register—but the economy and population have been contracting for decades. For families considering this area, the school sits at the center of a community that is quiet, affordable, and post-industrial, with limited commercial activity and no identified public transit.
The school itself is a regular public middle school within Allegany County Public Schools. It is not a charter or magnet school. Enrollment is moderate for a middle school, with a clear majority of students who are white, and a substantial share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The district has a Chinese Partial Immersion Program (CHIP) that runs from elementary through a proposed high school pathway, but that program is district-wide; no information was available about whether Westmar Middle participates in it or offers any specialized language tracks.
State testing results from the most recent school year show a sharp split between subjects. In English language arts, the share of students meeting proficiency was around half in seventh and eighth grades, but notably lower in sixth grade. In math, proficiency was very low across all three grade levels, with only a small fraction of students meeting the bar. Science results for eighth graders were also low, and social studies results were similar. A parent looking at these numbers would see a pattern: literacy outcomes are mixed but show some strength in the upper grades, while math is a clear area of concern that may warrant a closer conversation with the school about curriculum, intervention programs, and how the school supports students who are below grade level. Since only one year of data was available, it is not possible to see whether these results represent a trend or a single-year snapshot.
The housing market in the area is among the more affordable in the state. Home values are well below the Maryland median, and the cost of renting is also relatively low. For families who can manage a longer commute—Lonaconing is connected by a single highway that runs north to Frostburg and Interstate 68—the school offers a small, close-knit setting. The district has initiated an Elementary Schools Facility Utilization Study, which could lead to future changes in school boundaries or building use, but that study is focused on elementary schools, not middle schools.
Westmar Middle is a school where academic challenges are concentrated in math and, to a lesser degree, in sixth-grade reading. The student body is economically diverse, with a high poverty rate, and the community around it is stable but not growing. The district’s more distinctive offerings, like the Chinese immersion program, may or may not be accessible to Westmar families; a parent would need to ask the school directly. For a family that values a small-town environment, very low housing costs, and a school where the gaps in performance are clear enough to ask about, Westmar is worth a visit and a conversation with the principal.
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