The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Arthur Middleton Elementary School
Arthur Middleton Elementary School, a regular public school in Waldorf serving prekindergarten through fifth grade, sits within a rapidly grown suburban community that functions largely as a bedroom suburb for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The school is part of Charles County Public Schools, and a search for recent district-level changes that would directly affect parents found no specific updates meeting the lasting-impact bar.
Waldorf itself has transformed dramatically over the past several decades, swelling from a very small population into a sizable unincorporated area with no independent town government, governed instead by the Charles County Board of Commissioners. Its built environment is auto-oriented, with subdivisions and commercial corridors rather than a walkable downtown core. Commuting to federal, professional services, and healthcare jobs in the D.C. area is the dominant economic pattern for residents, though local service, sales, healthcare, and construction jobs are also present. Public transportation options include a county-run bus system and several MTA commuter routes with park-and-ride lots, and a planned rapid transit line to a Washington Metro station remains a future development catalyst.
Arthur Middleton Elementary enrolls a large student body for an elementary school. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The student population is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with small shares of white, Asian, and two-or-more-races students. The school is a regular public school and does not have a charter or magnet designation. State testing data was reported for the 2024-25 school year using Maryland’s MCAP and MISA assessments.
The school’s academic results show a clear pattern across grade levels. On the English language arts assessment, the proficiency rate was close to the midpoint of a typical range for third grade, then declined for fourth grade before recovering somewhat for fifth grade. In mathematics, the results were lower than the ELA outcomes at every grade level, with proficiency rates that declined from third to fourth and then further to fifth grade. On the fifth-grade science assessment, the proficiency rate was low. Taken together, the data indicates that the school’s strongest academic performance is in elementary reading, where roughly two-fifths of students met proficiency standards across the three tested grades, while math and science results represent a significant challenge that a parent may want to explore further with the school.
The comparison framework that would position this school’s proficiency against other districts in Charles County could not be applied because the county’s cohort of districts was too small to produce a meaningful comparison. This is an inherent limitation of the data rather than a reflection on the school itself.
Because Arthur Middleton is an elementary school with no high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Similarly, data for chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, and course access were not available in the provided information. For families considering the school, these are gaps worth investigating directly with the school or district.
The housing context in the zip code shows that home values are moderately priced compared with the national median, though recent trends indicate a modest pullback in the local market. Rents are somewhat below what a typical mortgage payment on an average-priced home would cost at prevailing interest rates, which may influence family decisions about whether to rent or buy in the attendance zone.
In summary, Arthur Middleton Elementary is a large, diverse elementary school whose academic identity is defined by a notable gap between reading and math performance. The reading results suggest a reasonable foundation in literacy for many students, while the math and science numbers point to areas where the school is working against a steeper headwind. Families moving to the Waldorf area for its commuter access and suburban setting will want to understand these results in the context of their own child’s needs and to explore what specific academic interventions and supports the school offers in mathematics and science.
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