The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 3% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hillcrest Elementary
Hillcrest Elementary, a regular public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in Frederick, Maryland, operates within the Frederick County Public Schools system. The school occupies a place within a city that functions both as a historic county seat and as a growing crossroads community, anchored by major employers such as Fort Detrick and the National Cancer Institute.
The student body of Hillcrest Elementary is large for its elementary-only grade band. The demographic portrait is one of clear majority composition, with students of Hispanic background accounting for the dominant portion of enrollment. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a rate that places the school’s economic context in a distinct position compared to many of its peers in the county.
State assessment results for the school year that ended in 2025 provide the primary view into academic performance. In English language arts, proficiency rates across the tested grades of three, four, and five clustered at a modest level, with the fifth-grade cohort performing somewhat lower than the third. In mathematics, proficiency rates were lower still across these same grades, and a clear downward trend appeared as students moved from third to fifth grade. On the fifth-grade science assessment, the share of students meeting the proficiency bar was very small. The data available covers a single year only, so trend information about whether these performance levels are improving or declining is not yet available. A parent may want to discuss these results with the school to understand any specific instructional supports or interventions that are in place.
The school’s location in Frederick places it in a housing market where home values are near the national benchmark and rental costs consume a notable portion of a typical household’s income. The city itself is described as experiencing population growth, which may contribute to changing enrollment patterns and classroom conditions over the coming years.
Because Hillcrest Elementary serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism and on the share of students receiving special education services or designated as English learners was not available in the profile. A search for recent district-level changes that would affect families, such as redistricting or curriculum shifts, did not produce confirmed findings specific to this school’s immediate context beyond the general district operation.
Comparisons to other districts within Frederick County could not be generated for this school because the cohort of comparable districts was too small to produce a meaningful positioning statement. The school stands as an individual case within a larger county system, and its profile is best understood on its own terms rather than against a set of close neighbors.
For a family weighing this school, the central considerations are the demographics of a heavily Hispanic, economically disadvantaged student body and the academic performance picture, which shows room for growth across all three tested subjects. The size of the school and its location in a growing city with strong local employment anchors are straightforward characteristics of the setting. The absence of multi-year trend data means that a family seeking to understand direction of change will need to seek that information directly from the school or district.
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