The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Summit Park Elementary
Summit Park Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in Baltimore County, part of the Baltimore County Public Schools system. It sits within a residential area of the county near the city of Baltimore, in a housing market where typical home values and rents run above both state and national medians, reflecting a relatively higher-cost neighborhood.
The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Just under three in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating a moderate level of economic diversity. The school is not a charter, magnet, or Title I school, and data on special education and English learner populations was not available.
Academically, Summit Park Elementary participates in Maryland’s state assessments, and the most recent results from the 2024-2025 school year offer a mixed picture. In English language arts, performance was stronger overall, with the third-grade cohort showing the highest proficiency rates, followed by fifth grade, while fourth-grade ELA dipped noticeably. Math results varied more widely across grades: third graders performed at a relatively higher level, fifth graders at a moderate level, and fourth graders at a substantially lower level. Science results for fifth graders were modest. The pattern of a notable drop in fourth-grade math and ELA is something a parent may want to explore further with the school, as it could reflect cohort differences, curriculum transitions, or other local factors. Only one year of data was available, so there is no trend line to compare.
As an elementary school, Summit Park does not have a graduation rate or secondary-level metrics like chronic absenteeism. The districtwide comparison tool was not usable, because the county cohort contained too few schools to place this one meaningfully relative to its neighbors.
The school operates within a large district undergoing several changes that may affect families. Baltimore County Public Schools adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum starting in the 2023-2024 school year, grounded in the science of reading and emphasizing phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. That shift touches every elementary school, including Summit Park. The district also approved boundary adjustments for several high school feeder systems, effective in 2025-2026, to address enrollment imbalances. It is unclear whether Summit Park’s attendance zone is directly affected, but the change signals ongoing redistricting in the county. A new cell phone policy restricting use during instructional time was implemented districtwide, though it is less relevant for elementary grades. The district is also in the early years of implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a state plan that expands pre-K access, raises teacher salaries, and boosts funding. Voters recently approved a bond issue for school safety improvements, including secure entrance vestibules and security cameras, which will fund capital upgrades across the system.
The broader community context is the Baltimore region, which has a service-oriented economy anchored by Johns Hopkins Hospital and University and the Port of Baltimore. The city and surrounding county contain numerous historic districts and cultural anchors. The city’s population has seen a slight decline in recent years, while a major infrastructure project to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge is underway. These regional dynamics shape the housing market and local economy but have indirect effects on the daily life of an elementary school.
For a parent considering Summit Park Elementary, the school presents a generally middle-income, predominantly white student body with moderate economic diversity. Its academic profile shows a mix of stronger early-grade literacy and uneven math performance across grade levels, with a particular weakness in fourth grade. The district is actively introducing new literacy instruction and adjusting boundaries, which could affect the school’s curriculum and enrollment patterns. Families who value a smaller, neighborhood-based elementary school within a large county system and who can afford the area’s above-average housing costs may find the school a reasonable fit, but those concerned about the grade-level performance gaps would benefit from direct conversations with the school’s leadership about how those are being addressed.
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