The top reported proficiency rate is 92% in English language arts. The lowest is 79% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Riderwood Elementary
Riderwood Elementary, a kindergarten-through-grade-five public school in the Towson area of Baltimore County, serves a small student body from neighborhoods inside the Baltimore Beltway. It is a regular elementary school with no charter or magnet designation. The school draws from a residential part of Towson, a community that functions as the county seat and hosts two universities, a regional mall, and a mix of older single-family-home neighborhoods and commercial corridors.
Academically, Riderwood produces consistently high results on the Maryland state assessments. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above is very strong at every tested grade. Math proficiency is also well above what one typically sees, with a particularly high result at grade four and still solid numbers at grades three and five. In fifth-grade science, the proficiency band is similarly strong. There is no multi-year trend data available yet for this school, so it is not possible to say whether performance is improving or holding steady, but the single year of reported results places Riderwood as a notably high-performing elementary school by any measure that uses state tests.
The student body is predominantly white, with Asian students making up the next largest group, followed by smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals is low. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners is not available in the records reviewed, so a parent wanting a fuller picture of special education support or language services should contact the school directly. The school is not a Title I school, which is consistent with its economic profile.
Riderwood sits within Baltimore County Public Schools, a large district that in recent years has introduced a new elementary literacy curriculum grounded in the science of reading, implemented a district-wide cell phone restriction during instructional time, and begun expanding pre-K access under the Blueprint for Maryland's Future state plan. Boundary changes affecting some high school feeder systems took effect in the 2025-2026 school year, though those directly affect secondary attendance, not this elementary school. Voters also approved a bond issue for school security upgrades, which are capital improvements that touch all schools in the district.
The housing market in the Towson zip code area shows home values that are high compared to state and national benchmarks. Rents are also elevated. The area's unemployment rate is moderate and in line with national trends. Median household income nationally sits at about the level that would make the local housing market a stretch for many families, which is an important context for any family considering a move into the Riderwood attendance zone.
There is no public data in this file about class sizes, teacher experience, or the range of special programs beyond the standard elementary curriculum. The school's website was not reviewed here, so a parent interested in enrichment offerings such as art, music, or after-school activities would want to check directly with the school or its parent-teacher organization.
For a family looking at Riderwood, the academic picture is the strongest signal. The school's tested outcomes are well above typical proficiency rates in Maryland, and the student body has a low proportion of students in poverty, which often correlates with strong peer academic context. The setting is suburban and inside the Beltway, close to Baltimore and to the institutional anchors of Towson. The district is in the middle of several system-wide changes around literacy instruction and school boundaries. None of those changes are specific to Riderwood, but they define the operating context. A parent who values strong tested performance and a school where a large majority of students meet or exceed grade-level standards would likely find Riderwood a good fit. A parent concerned about the lack of detailed data on special populations or program breadth may want to push for more information from the school before making a decision.
See more original research from School Decision →