The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in English language arts. The lowest is 47% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Bodkin Elementary
Bodkin Elementary is a regular public school in Pasadena, Maryland, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It operates under the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system, one of the larger districts in the state. The school sits in a predominantly residential, car-dependent census-designated place that stretches along peninsulas and suburban corridors. Pasadena has no traditional downtown; its schools and civic services are distributed along major roads, and families typically commute to work, with travel times consistent with a bedroom community. The housing market shows a high share of owner-occupied homes, and the area has experienced notable population growth over the past decade, with a low vacancy rate that points to a tight housing supply. Home values and rents in Pasadena are near the state median, and for a family moving in, the cost of buying versus renting leans slightly in favor of renting based on current mortgage rates.
Academically, Bodkin Elementary’s most recent state testing results (the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, or MCAP, for the 2024–25 school year) show a mixed picture that a parent will want to examine at each grade level. In English language arts, a solid majority of third graders scored at or above the proficiency benchmark, and fourth graders recorded an even stronger result above two-thirds proficient. By fifth grade, the share dipped below three-fifths but remained above half. Math performance, across tested grades, is lower. Third graders scored below half proficient, and the results for fourth and fifth graders fall in a narrow range just above two-fifths proficient, suggesting the school’s math outcomes are a weaker area compared to reading. In fifth-grade science, about half of students reached proficiency on the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment. For a school that is not an alternative or special-population setting, these results give parents a baseline to discuss with teachers, particularly around math support. The school does not have multi-year trend data—only a single year is available—so there is no way to see whether these scores represent a change from prior years.
The student body is about the size that many elementary schools in the region serve. The overwhelming majority of students are white, with a much smaller number of Hispanic students and even fewer Black, Asian, or multiracial students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals is modest, meaning the school draws from a relatively financially stable attendance zone. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so a parent looking for information on special education services or language support would need to contact the school directly. No information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, or staffing ratios was available for this profile.
The one parent-relevant change identified for the district is the opening of Severn Run High School, a new comprehensive middle school and high school that redrew attendance boundaries in the western part of Anne Arundel County. That change likely does not directly affect Bodkin Elementary, which sits in the northern part of the county along the Patapsco River, but families with children across multiple grade levels may want to confirm middle and high school feeder patterns. The district offers no further recent developments in the provided data.
Bodkin Elementary fits a family looking for a neighborhood elementary school in a suburban, owner-occupied community with stable housing and steady population growth. The academic profile suggests stronger reading than math performance, and the math results are an area where a parent may want to ask the school about curriculum and intervention. The student body is relatively homogeneous, and the school does not carry a Title I designation. For families considering Pasadena, the lack of a downtown and the car-dependent layout are characteristics to weigh alongside the school’s academic offerings. Missing data on special populations and attendance means that some of the usual questions about student support and school climate cannot be answered from these records alone.
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