The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in English language arts. The lowest is 37% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Norrisville Elementary
Norrisville Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in White Hall, a small rural unincorporated community that straddles the border of Baltimore and Harford counties. The school sits within the Harford County Public Schools system and draws its students from a quiet residential area that was once a railroad and milling center. Today White Hall is largely a village of single-family homes with limited commercial life, and the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail runs through it, offering a recreational corridor. Home values in the area sit well above both the state and national medians, reflecting a relatively high-cost housing market for a rural setting.
Academically, Norrisville Elementary yields a mixed picture. State assessment data from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program shows areas of real strength alongside softer spots. In English language arts, fourth graders posted a notably strong result, and the school’s overall ELA proficiency across tested grades from the single year of data available was above the level a parent might see at many elementary schools statewide. Third-grade ELA was solid but a bit lower, and fifth-grade ELA fell in a middle range that a family might want to discuss with the school for more detail. Math results follow a similar pattern: third graders performed well, while fourth graders showed a lower proficiency rate and fifth graders again landed in a moderate range. The fifth-grade science assessment on the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment was substantially weaker, with fewer than half of students scoring proficient. Because only one year of assessment data is available for this school, it is not possible to say whether these results represent a trend or a single snapshot. The Harford County district has only one district, so no comparison to neighboring districts is available for context.
The student body is small for an elementary school and is predominantly white. Roughly three in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that is below the national average, consistent with the relatively high local housing costs. The school serves children from kindergarten through fifth grade, with each grade level having a modest number of students, creating the potential for smaller class sizes and a more individualized feel. No data was available on chronic absenteeism, special education identification, or English learner enrollment, so a parent interested in those areas would need to ask the school directly.
At the district level, Harford County Public Schools is in the process of rebuilding Homestead-Wakefield Elementary in Bel Air as a single-building campus, a capital project that affects families in that area but does not directly touch Norrisville. All Maryland districts, including Harford, began implementing the Keep Students In Class law in the 2024-25 school year, which revises attendance and behavioral policies; parents at Norrisville will experience those changes as well.
Norrisville Elementary fits a family looking for a small, rural elementary school within a higher-cost housing market, where academic results vary by subject and grade rather than being uniformly high. The weaker science and some math results suggest that a parent may want to look into how the school supports those areas and whether the school offers any enrichment or intervention programs, especially since the school’s website and program listings were not provided. For a family that values a tight-knit setting in a quiet community with limited commercial bustle, this school could be a good match.
See more original research from School Decision →