The reported proficiency rate for Science is 22%.
Original Research by School Decision on Perryville High
Perryville High sits in a small town that grew up at the Susquehanna River outlet, shaped by the railroad and then by Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 40. The town today is a mix of historic residential streets, a waterfront park, and sprawling commercial development anchored by a casino, a Great Wolf Lodge resort, an IKEA distribution center, and an outlet center. The Perry Point VA Medical Center campus occupies the river’s edge. This is a highway-oriented, car-dependent place, with commuter rail service to Baltimore and Washington via the MARC Penn Line. The town has been expanding steadily, with several large tourist and distribution investments in recent years.
The high school serves students in ninth through twelfth grades and is a regular public school within Cecil County Public Schools. Its enrollment is mid-sized for a high school in a district of this scale. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who are Black, Hispanic, or identify as two or more races. About half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a figure that signals a meaningful share of families with lower household incomes.
On academic performance, the picture is incomplete. For the 2024-25 school year, the school reported a proficiency rate in English language arts that exceeded well over half of students, a solid result. But state testing data for high school grades in math and science was not available in the information provided. The only math and science results on file come from an earlier testing cycle and are for grade eight, which is not a grade this school serves. Anyone evaluating the school should ask directly for current high school test results in those subjects. The school’s graduation rate was also absent from the data, so families will want to confirm that with the school or the district.
Other commonly reported indicators—chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, course access—were not found in the available information, making it difficult to assess the school environment on those fronts. Parents may wish to inquire about class sizes, support services, and the range of advanced or career-focused coursework offered.
The district context provides two relevant notes. Cecil County Public Schools is in the middle of a major construction project combining Bohemia Manor High School and Middle School into one campus, expected to open in August 2026. That project does not directly affect Perryville but shows the district is investing in facilities elsewhere. More broadly, the district faced a budget shortfall in spring 2024 that threatened program cuts, including Pre-K and class size increases. The county ultimately provided full funding for the next fiscal year, a record amount that averted those cuts. Families in Perryville can expect stable funding for the near term, though the episode illustrates that district finances can become tight.
The local housing market reflects a community that is more affordable than the state average but has seen price increases typical of Maryland’s outer suburbs. The typical home value in Perryville sits below the statewide median. Monthly mortgage costs would be comparable to or slightly lower than rent for similar properties, and the price-to-income ratio suggests homes are moderately priced relative to local earnings. The town’s population has grown over the past decade, and new tourism and distribution developments continue to arrive. This is not a rapidly gentrifying area, but one where steady commercial growth has created jobs and drawn visitors.
For a family considering Perryville High, the school offers a majority-white student body with moderate economic diversity, a town that is small but has substantial retail and hospitality employment, and a district that has recently avoided budget cuts. The academic strengths appear to center on English language arts, while math and science performance at the high school level remain unclear. Without a graduation rate or more detailed school environment data, parents will need to gather additional information from the school to form a complete picture.
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