West Side Elementary, Cumberland MD

Original Research by School Decision on West Side Elementary

West Side Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in Cumberland, the county seat of Allegany County in western Maryland. The school is part of the Allegany County Public Schools district. Cumberland itself is a historic city that once thrived on manufacturing and now has a smaller population, a downtown with 19th-century architecture, and a growing tourism economy tied to the C&O Canal towpath and the Great Allegheny Passage trail system. The city has experienced a long population decline and is one of the poorest metropolitan areas in the country, though a recent relocation program aims to attract new residents. Housing in the area is relatively affordable compared to state and national benchmarks, and rents have been rising.

West Side Elementary is a regular public school serving a prekindergarten-through-fifth-grade population. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial share of students identifying as two or more races and smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating that the school serves a community with significant economic need. The school is not a charter or magnet school.

On the Maryland state assessments, known as MCAP for math and English language arts and MISA for science, West Side Elementary's results show a mixed picture. In English language arts, third graders had a proficiency rate that was above half, while fourth graders were below that mark and fifth graders landed exactly at half. In math, proficiency rates were lower across all three tested grades, with third graders at roughly a third and fourth and fifth graders each at about a quarter. In fifth-grade science, about a fifth of students met the proficiency standard. These results represent a single year of data, so no trend is available. A parent may want to discuss with the school how these proficiency levels compare to their own expectations and what academic supports are in place.

The school is part of the Allegany County Public Schools district, which offers a Chinese Partial Immersion Program and is currently conducting an Elementary Schools Facility Utilization Study. That study could lead to changes in school attendance boundaries or building use, something families moving into the area may want to monitor.

Housing in the area is notably more affordable than the state average, with home values well below Maryland's typical level. Rents have been rising at a faster pace than home values. The local unemployment rate has been slightly above the national average in recent months.

West Side Elementary is a neighborhood school in a city that has seen long-term population decline and economic challenges. The school's academic results on state assessments show a range, with English language arts performance stronger than math and science. The student body is economically diverse, with a high share of families qualifying for meal assistance. For a family considering this school, the key factors are the school's academic profile, the district's ongoing facility study that could affect future attendance patterns, and the broader context of a city working to reverse population loss through initiatives like a relocation incentive program.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 334%

School 34% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 425%

School 25% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · district not reported

▲ 9 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · district not reported

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

This schoolAllegany County Public Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income12%Higher-income52%40 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income16%Higher-income32%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income6%Higher-income16%10 pp gap