The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Emmorton Elementary
Emmorton Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in the Bel Air area of Harford County. It is a conventional neighborhood elementary school, not a charter or magnet school, and it sits within Harford County Public Schools, the only district in the county. The school draws from a community that is the governmental, commercial, and cultural center of Harford County. Bel Air combines a historic downtown with a walkable arts and entertainment district, and the broader area has seen steady growth for decades.
The student body at Emmorton Elementary is predominantly white, with a substantial Asian student population and smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. More than one in five students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a rate that places the school in a middle-income context relative to the county. The school’s enrollment is balanced across the elementary grades, with each grade level hosting a comparable number of students.
Academically, Emmorton Elementary shows a clear divergence between its English language arts and math results. In reading, the school performs at a high level. Across third, fourth, and fifth grade, strong majorities of students meet the state’s proficiency standard on the MCAP, with the share of proficient students staying well above the midpoint. Fifth-grade reading proficiency, while still a majority, is the lowest of the three tested grades. In math, the trend is more mixed and notably weaker by fifth grade. Third-grade math proficiency falls within a reported range that suggests a solid share of students met the bar, but fourth-grade math proficiency drops to just over half of students, and fifth-grade math proficiency falls below half. This decline in math as students move through the grades is a pattern a parent may want to discuss with the school, particularly for families whose children are beginning to struggle with upper-elementary math concepts.
Science results, tested in fifth grade, are low relative to the school’s reading performance. Less than half of fifth graders met the proficiency standard on the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment. This is not uncommon for elementary schools statewide, where science scores often lag behind reading, but it is a soft spot in the school’s academic profile.
The school offers no high school programs, so there is no graduation rate to report. The comparison set that would place Emmorton against other Harford County districts was too small to yield meaningful benchmarks, so no relative positioning within the county is available from that data. State testing participation rates were not reported, so it is not possible to confirm whether all students took the assessments.
The housing market around the school is a factor for families deciding to move into the attendance zone. Home values in the area are above the national median, and rents are also above typical national levels, reflecting Bel Air’s position as a desirable suburban hub with a strong job base in healthcare and government. The local unemployment rate is moderate, and household incomes are above the national median, consistent with a stable, middle-to-upper-middle-income community.
The district itself recently implemented a state-mandated law changing attendance and behavioral policies, which may affect how absences and disciplinary actions are handled beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. A parent moving into the area may want to ask the school how these policies are being applied in practice at the elementary level. The district is also rebuilding Homestead-Wakefield Elementary School in Bel Air as a single-building campus, a capital project that is underway but does not directly affect Emmorton’s facility or assignment.
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