The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in English language arts. The lowest is 53% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on West Annapolis Elementary
West Annapolis Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Annapolis, Maryland. It sits in a neighborhood of the state capital, a city that blends historic waterfront, state government, St. John’s College, and the U.S. Naval Academy into a compact, walkable downtown environment. The school itself is housed in a building on Melvin Avenue, within reach of the downtown core.
The student body is a modest-sized elementary school. Most students are white, with a notable share identifying as Hispanic and smaller numbers of Black, Asian, multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A relatively small share of the student population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which points to a generally higher-income family base compared with many schools nationally. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support structures.
State testing results from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program provide a mixed but largely positive picture. In English language arts, across third through fifth grade, proficiency was consistently strong; third-grade reading performance stood out as particularly high. Mathematics results showed variation: third-grade math was very strong, while fourth- and fifth-grade math proficiency was closer to the middle range, meaning about half of students in those grades met the state’s proficiency bar. In fifth-grade science, about half of students reached the proficient level. The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate or college-going data applies. Because the school is a single entity within a large county district, a direct comparison to other elementary schools in Anne Arundel County using the available metric was not possible with this data set.
The community context matters here. Annapolis is Maryland’s capital and the county seat, with a population that has grown modestly in recent decades. It is land-constrained, the smallest U.S. state capital by land area, which contributes to high housing costs. Home values in the area are well above the national median, and rents are similarly elevated. That means families living near West Annapolis Elementary are likely paying a significant premium for the location, drawn by the walkable historic downtown, the waterfront, and the proximity to government and institutional jobs. The major employers include state government, Anne Arundel County government, the Naval Academy, St. John’s College, and the tourism and maritime economy. The overall environment is one of relative affluence and civic engagement.
The parent district, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, recently opened a new comprehensive middle school, Severn Run High School, in the western part of the county to accommodate growth and adjust attendance boundaries. That change is most relevant to families living in that area, not directly to the Annapolis neighborhoods served by West Annapolis Elementary, but it signals that the district is investing in capacity amid regional growth pressures.
For a family considering this school, the picture is of a small elementary that combines a strong academic profile, particularly in early reading, with a high-cost, amenity-rich urban setting. The math and science results at the upper elementary grades are more moderate, so a parent with a child who needs extra support in those subjects may want to ask about intervention programs. The available data did not include discipline statistics, staffing ratios, or attendance rates, so those remain open questions worth raising with the school office. The school’s location within a state capital with a tight housing market means it serves a population that is largely economically comfortable, though the city itself contains a mix of income levels, and the school does enroll a share of students from lower-income households.
West Annapolis Elementary fits a family that values a neighborhood school in a walkable, historic city with strong early literacy outcomes and a peer group that is predominantly from higher-income backgrounds. The missing data points on special education, English learner services, and school climate are gaps that a prospective parent would need to fill through conversation with the school.
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