The top reported proficiency rate is 66% in Math. The lowest is 43% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Accident Elementary
Accident Elementary serves a small rural community in Garrett County, Maryland, a town with an unusual name and a population that has been declining gradually. The town’s own website points to a place meant for raising children and enjoying reserved country life, and the school fits that setting: it is a regular public elementary school drawing from the village of Accident and the surrounding area. Because the school covers only prekindergarten through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the available academic data comes from state tests taken by third, fourth, and fifth graders.
On the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, third graders posted a strong result in math, with a large majority reaching proficiency. Third-grade English language arts also showed solid performance. By fifth grade, the picture was more mixed: math proficiency was around the midpoint, and English proficiency was close to that same level. Fourth-grade results in both subjects were reported as a range, with the lower end indicating that a smaller share of students met the bar; a parent may want to ask the school about those fourth-grade patterns directly. Science, tested only in fifth grade via the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment, saw fewer than half of students scoring proficient. These results come from a single year of testing data, so no multi-year trend is available for comparison.
Enrollment at Accident Elementary skews heavily white, with a small share of Hispanic students and a handful identifying as two or more races. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a figure that places the school in a typical range for a rural Appalachian community. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not provided, so it is not possible to speak to the school’s special education or language support context from the available data.
The school is part of Garrett County Public Schools, a district that serves the entire county. The district brief turned up no recent major changes that would affect a family’s decision, so the focus stays on the school itself. Because Accident Elementary is the only school in this county that falls into this comparison set, there are no neighboring districts to place its performance against. That means the academic results stand on their own as a snapshot, not as a ranking.
Housing in Accident is notably more affordable than the Maryland state average, and also slightly below the national benchmark, which matters for families considering a move. The town is very small, built along a single main road, with low-density residential development and a handful of civic anchors: the Drane House, a historic home; the town pond, the volunteer fire department, and the municipal building. No public library or transit system was identified in the town’s own materials. The area is experiencing slight population decline, and no major new housing or commercial projects surfaced in the search.
For a family weighing this school, the strengths include a strong showing in early elementary math and reading, a small-school setting that may allow for close relationships, and a rural community that markets itself as a quiet place to raise children. The soft spots are the drop in proficiency by fourth and fifth grade, especially in math and science, where results fall below half proficient. A parent may want to ask how the school supports students in the upper elementary grades and what approach it takes to science instruction. The school’s peer environment is homogeneous, and the town’s economic base is limited; many residents likely commute to nearby towns for work. Accident Elementary fits best for a family looking for a traditional rural elementary experience in a low-cost housing market, with the understanding that the academic trajectory tapers off as students move through the grades.
See more original research from School Decision →