The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cecilton Elementary
Cecilton Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in the small, rural town of Cecilton in southern Cecil County. The school sits on West Main Street, the compact downtown core where Town Hall, the post office, a bank, small shops, and a restaurant are clustered. Families here live in a quiet, agriculturally preserved area near the Chesapeake Bay and the Sassafras and Bohemia Rivers, with seasonal tourism contributing to the local economy.
The school draws from a community that is modest in size and largely residential. The enrollment is small for an elementary school, with a student body that is predominantly white. The next largest group is Hispanic students, with smaller shares of students identifying as two or more races, Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian. A substantial share of students qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school in a context where economic need is a factor for a majority of families. Staffing and discipline data were not available, nor were English learner or special education counts.
On state assessments administered through Maryland’s MCAP and MISA programs, results came in across a spread. In English language arts, fourth and fifth graders both showed proficiency levels that were above what the third graders recorded, with the third-grade result reported as a range rather than a single figure because of small-group suppression rules. Those reading scores land near the middle of the range when placed against state expectations. In math, the picture is weaker. Proficiency in third and fourth grades was lower than in reading, and fifth-grade math proficiency fell notably. Fifth-grade science proficiency, tested on the state’s MISA assessment, was low as well. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how math and science instruction is being approached across the upper grades.
Because Cecilton Elementary serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school has only one year of proficiency data, so no trend is available to indicate whether performance is improving or declining over time. The comparison system, which places schools relative to other districts in Cecil County, could not produce a comparison because the county has few districts to measure against.
The broader district has seen significant change that could affect families zoned for Cecilton Elementary. Cecil County Public Schools recently completed a major construction project combining Bohemia Manor High School and Bohemia Manor Middle School into a single shared campus, a change that reshapes the secondary school experience for students in that feeder area. The district also faced a budget crisis in spring 2024, warning of potential cuts to pre-kindergarten programs and class-size increases, but ultimately received what was described as record funding in the county’s FY2026 budget.
Housing in Cecilton is comparatively affordable, with home values below the state median. The town itself remains stable, with no major new housing developments identified. Surrounding farmland has been placed in agricultural preservation programs, which limits large-scale growth and preserves the rural character families moving here may be seeking. The compact town layout means the school is within walking distance of the downtown core for those who live nearby, though the area overall is car-dependent, with a typical commute that involves driving and an average of two cars per household.
For a family considering this school, the key factors are the small, rural setting, the economic diversity of the student body, English language arts achievement that sits around the middle of expectations, and math and science scores that are lower. The school is a neighborhood elementary with no specialized programs or pathways reported, serving its local community in a town that has held steady in size and character.
See more original research from School Decision →