Urbana Middle, Ijamsville MD - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Urbana Middle

Urbana Middle School serves grades six through eight in the Ijamsville area of Frederick County. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school. The student body is diverse, with white students making up the largest share, followed by a substantial Asian American population, and smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, multiracial, and a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students. A relatively modest portion of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which points to an overall higher-income peer environment.

Academically, the school shows a clear strength in English language arts. In each grade level, a large majority of students scored proficient or above on the state MCAP assessments. Reading and writing skills at this school are a clear academic asset for families considering it. Social studies proficiency was also strong for the eighth grade, the only grade tested in that subject. Science proficiency on the MISA assessment, also administered in eighth grade, was solid, with nearly two-thirds of students meeting the bar. Mathematics presents a more nuanced picture. In sixth and seventh grades, roughly half of students scored proficient or above, but by eighth grade that share dropped notably. This decline is not unusual for middle school math, but it is a soft spot a parent may want to ask about, particularly how the school supports students transitioning into more advanced math coursework. The school also reported strong results in geometry, which is likely taken by a subset of students who are accelerating, a detail that suggests advanced math pathways exist but may not reach all students.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Civil rights data, chronic absenteeism figures, and information on course access and staffing were not available in the provided data. A parent looking for details on discipline climate or special education services would need to contact the school directly.

Ijamsville itself is a primarily residential community that has transformed from a slate mining and agricultural town into a bedroom suburb of Frederick, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. There is no functional downtown; the original town center lost its post office and general store years ago. The built environment consists of residential subdivisions and remaining farmland connected by rural and suburban roads, making the area car-dependent. Housing values in the ZIP code are high, well above both the state and national medians, and the area is affluent. Growth has been steady, with farmland being converted to houses for commuters. Civic anchors are limited to a historic church and a Hindu temple; there is no public library or major park specific to Ijamsville, though county systems serve the area.

The district, Frederick County Public Schools, did not have any parent-relevant changes such as recent referenda, major budget shifts, or curriculum changes that surfaced in the research for this profile. That may mean the district has been relatively stable in recent years, or it may simply reflect that the search did not find publicly reported changes meeting the bar for lasting impact.

For a family considering Urbana Middle, the picture is of a school with strong literacy outcomes and a generally high-performing student body in a wealthy, growing, car-dependent suburban setting. The math dip in eighth grade is worth a conversation with the school. The lack of a downtown and the commuter nature of the area mean that most daily life, from shopping to extracurricular activities, likely happens outside Ijamsville itself.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 652%

School 52% · district not reported

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 753%

School 53% · district not reported

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · district not reported

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 681%

School 81% · district not reported

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 786%

School 86% · district not reported

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · district not reported

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 863%

School 63% · district not reported

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 51% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

This schoolFrederick County Public Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income57%37 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income20%Higher-income52%32 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income31%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income19%12 pp gap