The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in English language arts. The lowest is 39% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Barstow Elementary
Barstow Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Prince Frederick, the commercial and government hub of Calvert County. The school sits within Calvert County Public Schools, a single-county district, and operates as a neighborhood elementary school. Its enrollment is large for an elementary school, with a student body that is majority white, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. About two in five students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a share that suggests the school serves a mix of income levels.
State test results from the most recent year available give a mixed picture. In English language arts, the school posts results that are solid across third, fourth, and fifth grades, with the share of students meeting proficiency standards in a range that many parents would consider adequate. Math results are softer overall, particularly in fourth grade, where the proficiency rate drops notably relative to the school’s own third-grade performance. Fifth-grade math and science scores are similar to one another, both falling well below the school’s English language arts results. A parent looking at these numbers might want to ask the school how it supports math instruction across the upper elementary grades and whether there are targeted interventions for students who are not meeting benchmarks. The data covers only one year, so it is not possible from this source to see whether these patterns are new or longstanding.
Because the school ends at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. That is a standard gap for an elementary school.
Prince Frederick itself is best described as a planned, auto-oriented commercial center that has grown steadily over the past several decades. The town’s built environment is shaped by a town center zoning designation that channels new development along major roads rather than into a walkable downtown. Shopping centers, the county courthouse, Calvert Memorial Hospital, and the Calvert County branch of the College of Southern Maryland anchor the local economy. Residential neighborhoods connect to the school via a network of loop roads and the main north-south highway, Route 2-4. Commuter bus service runs along Route 4 into Washington, D.C., which matters for families who work in the region. Housing values in the area are above the national median, and the local market has seen steady appreciation.
The district brief turned up no specific recent changes to curriculum, boundaries, or facilities that would be directly relevant to a parent considering Barstow Elementary. That absence means there is no reported disruption or shift to weigh in the decision.
For a family, the central question about Barstow Elementary comes down to the gap between its English language arts and math results. The school’s ELA performance is a clear strength for an elementary serving this population. The math results, especially in fourth grade, are a soft spot that deserves a conversation with the principal or a visit to see how the school addresses it. The student body is moderately diverse in socioeconomic terms, and the school’s size means a child will be in a large cohort. The community context is suburban and car-dependent, with the amenities of a county seat nearby. The school is not a charter or magnet, and there is no stated Title I designation in the data. A family that values strong early literacy and is willing to probe how the school handles math will get a clearer picture by visiting and asking about instruction in the upper grades.
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