The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Timber Grove Elementary
Timber Grove Elementary is a regular public school in the Owings Mills section of Baltimore County, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits within the larger Baltimore County Public Schools system, a district that has recently adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum grounded in the science of reading and implemented a district-wide cell phone policy restricting phone use during instructional time. These changes shape the classroom environment that Timber Grove students experience.
Owings Mills itself is a suburban area northwest of Baltimore, characterized by residential neighborhoods alongside a dense concentration of shopping centers and office parks. The community is largely car-dependent, with civic and commercial life organized around large retail developments rather than a traditional downtown. Major employers include CareFirst, T. Rowe Price, and Black & Decker, and the area has seen significant redevelopment in recent years, with former industrial and retail sites transformed into new commercial centers. The housing market in the zip code reflects a mid-to-upper price range, with home values and rents both having risen modestly in the past year.
Timber Grove serves a student body that is majority Black, with a substantial share of Hispanic students and smaller numbers of white, Asian, and multiracial students. A large majority of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating a high concentration of families with lower household incomes. The school is a neighborhood elementary, not a charter or magnet.
On the 2024-25 state assessments, the school's proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were low across all tested grades. In math, performance declined as students advanced, with proficiency rates notably lower in fourth and fifth grade compared to third grade. In English language arts, rates for third and fourth graders were modest and similar to each other, while fifth grade proficiency was markedly lower. On the fifth-grade science assessment, proficiency was low as well. These results represent a single year of data, so there is no multi-year trend available to assess whether this is a stable pattern or a change from prior years. A parent may want to discuss these results with the school to understand what interventions or supports are in place, particularly for older elementary students.
The comparison data that would place Timber Grove against other elementary schools in Baltimore County was not available due to a limited cohort, so it is not possible to say how these results compare to nearby schools within the same district.
Because Timber Grove is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report. Data on student discipline, staffing, chronic absenteeism, and special education or English learner populations was not available in the source material, so a full picture of the school environment and student support systems is incomplete. The school's website and district office would be the place to seek information on class sizes, enrichment programs, and services for students with disabilities or language needs.
For a family considering Timber Grove, the key factors are clear: a high-poverty elementary school in a growing suburban area, with academic proficiency below state benchmarks across subjects, and recent district-level changes to curriculum and technology use that may influence daily instruction. The school's size is moderate for an elementary, and its setting within Owings Mills offers access to major retail and employment centers but requires a car for most errands and activities.
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