The top reported proficiency rate is 72% in English language arts. The lowest is 37% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hickory Elementary
Hickory Elementary is a regular public school in Bel Air, the county seat of Harford County, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits within the Harford County Public Schools system.
The school’s student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that is on the lower side for a Maryland public school and points to a generally more affluent catchment area. Class sizes by grade level are consistent, each grade holding close to a hundred students, with the overall enrollment putting it at a mid-sized elementary school.
On state assessments, Hickory’s academic picture is strongest in English language arts. The share of students scoring proficient or above rises steadily across grades, from a solid majority in third grade to a strong majority in fifth grade. Math results are more mixed. Third graders posted a strong proficiency rate, but fourth-grade math dropped below the school’s ELA performance in that grade, and fifth-grade math was reported as a broad range falling noticeably further below the other grades. Parents should note that this range, rather than a precise figure, is used for fifth-grade math, which may reflect small-group reporting rules or other state methodology. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows a relatively low proficiency rate compared to the school’s ELA numbers. This is a pattern seen at many Maryland elementary schools, where science results often trail literacy and math. The available data covers a single school year, so no trend line yet exists to show whether these scores are moving up or down.
A parent looking into the school will want to ask about the dip in fourth-grade math and the fifth-grade math range, to understand whether the school has identified specific challenges and what interventions are in place. The strong ELA trajectory across all three tested grades is a clear strength.
Because Hickory Elementary serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate and no chronic absenteeism data in the profile; those metrics apply to high schools or are collected differently at the elementary level. No discipline or staffing data was available in the source material, so a complete picture of school climate and student support structures would require a visit or conversation with the school.
Bel Air itself is a historic town that functions as the governmental, medical, and commercial hub of Harford County. Its downtown has a traditional Main Street feel with local shops, an arts district, and a walking trail on a former railroad bed. The housing market in the local ZIP code is above the national median, and homes have appreciated moderately in the past year. Rents have risen at a slightly faster clip. The town has seen steady long-term growth, and the broader Bel Air-Aberdeen urban area continues to expand.
For families considering Hickory, the school sits in a community with a solid economic base, anchored by the county government and a major hospital. The peer environment at the school is relatively homogeneous in income and background. Academically, the school’s literacy instruction appears to be a clear strength, while math and science are uneven and warrant a closer look from a prospective parent. The district is in the midst of rebuilding another Bel Air elementary to a single-building campus, a sign of ongoing capital investment in the area’s school facilities, though Hickory itself was not named in that project.
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