The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in English language arts. The lowest is 49% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hillsmere Elementary
Hillsmere Elementary is a regular public school in Annapolis, Maryland, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system. The school sits in a residential neighborhood on Arundel on the Bay Road, a short distance from the waterfront communities along the Chesapeake Bay. Annapolis itself is the state capital and county seat, a compact city that blends government and civic functions with a historic downtown and a lively waterfront. The U.S. Naval Academy and St. John's College are nearby, and the city draws its identity from its role as a sailing capital and tourist destination. For a family considering this school, the immediate context is a mid-Atlantic capital city with a walkable downtown core and suburban residential areas radiating outward.
On state assessments, Hillsmere Elementary shows a pattern of stronger English language arts performance compared to math. In third grade, a solid majority of students met or exceeded standards in reading and writing. Fourth- and fifth-grade ELA results were somewhat lower but still at levels that many families would find reassuring. Math proficiency was lower across the board: roughly half to just over half of students in grades three through five scored at the proficient level. Fifth-grade science results fell around the halfway mark. These numbers come from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) for math and ELA and the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA) for science. Because the school does not serve grades beyond five, there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or teacher staffing were available. A family interested in those areas may want to inquire directly with the school or district.
The student body is moderately sized and predominantly white, with notable shares of Black and Hispanic students and a smaller Asian population. Just over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a figure that places the school in a middle range relative to the broader county. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported in the sources reviewed, so a parent seeking that information should ask the school directly.
Housing in the immediate area is expensive. Home values in the zip code are well above the national median, and rents are also high relative to incomes. The estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home, after a typical down payment, exceeds the median rent, meaning that buying is more costly than renting in this market. For families moving into the district, the affordability gap is something to weigh. The broader Annapolis housing market has seen steady appreciation, and the city is land-constrained, which keeps pressure on prices.
The district recently opened a new comprehensive middle school, Severn Run High School, in the Severn area, which redrew some attendance boundaries for families in the western part of the county. That change may not directly affect Hillsmere Elementary, which sits in the eastern part of Annapolis, but it signals ongoing growth and capacity adjustments in Anne Arundel County.
The school itself is a regular public school with no charter or magnet status. No Title I designation was provided. Program offerings outside the core academic subjects were not detailed in the available data. The school website may offer information on clubs, arts, and enrichment that the state-level data do not capture.
For a parent or resident evaluating Hillsmere Elementary, the core picture is a neighborhood elementary school with decent academic results in reading, more modest results in math and science, a moderate level of economic diversity, and a location in a high-cost housing market within a historic and well-connected capital city. The gaps in available data mean that some important questions about student support services, classroom environment, and extracurricular opportunities will need to be answered through direct contact with the school.
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