The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in English language arts. The lowest is 41% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hollifield Station Elementary
Hollifield Station Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Ellicott City, a large, unincorporated census-designated place that functions as the county seat of Howard County. The school is part of the Howard County Public Schools system, a district that opened a thirteenth high school in 2023 and has pursued a strategic plan organized around five focus areas including reading by grade 3 and college and career readiness.
The student body is diverse. Asian students make up the largest share, followed by white students, then Hispanic and Black students in roughly equal proportions, with a smaller number of students who identify as two or more races and a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students. About a quarter of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The school has a substantial enrollment for an elementary school, with more than seven hundred students distributed fairly evenly across grades kindergarten through five. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available in the records reviewed.
State assessment results from the 2024-25 school year show a mixed picture. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above was near sixty percent in third grade and rose to above sixty percent in both fourth and fifth grades, where the results for fifth grade were reported as a range. In math, proficiency rates varied noticeably by grade level. Third graders posted a result near sixty percent, but the rate for fourth graders was lower, below half. Fifth-grade math results were reported as a range that also came in below the third-grade figure. Science results for fifth graders were lower still, with less than half of students reaching the proficient or above threshold. Because only a single year of assessment data was provided, it is not possible to determine whether these results represent an upward or downward trend. A parent or resident may want to ask the school about the variation in math proficiency between third and fourth grade.
The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It is not a Title I school, or that information was not included in the data. No information was available on discipline rates, course access, staffing ratios, or chronic absenteeism.
Housing in the area is expensive. The typical home value in the school's zip code is well above the state median, and the typical rent is also high. The estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home with a twenty percent down payment exceeds the typical rent, making buying significantly more expensive than renting at current interest rates. The local unemployment rate is modest, and median household income nationally is below what would be needed to comfortably afford the typical home in this area, which suggests that many families who live here likely have incomes well above the national median.
Ellicott City itself is a place of two characters. A historic downtown along Main Street sits in a narrow river valley, with eighteenth- and nineteenth-century stone buildings, shops, restaurants, and the oldest surviving train station in the country, now a living history museum. The rest of the community is suburban, with neighborhoods connected by roads and commercial areas oriented around shopping centers. County government offices are located on a separate campus. The community is in the midst of a major flood mitigation effort following destructive flash floods several years ago, with a tunnel project that involved removing several historic buildings and is still underway. The district has seen significant growth in teacher and support staff salaries in recent years, contributing to a rising per-pupil expenditure and budget pressures that affect county funding and property taxes.
Overall, Hollifield Station Elementary sits in a high-cost, suburban setting within a well-resourced county district. Its test results are a mix of solid English language arts performance and notably weaker math and science outcomes at certain grade levels. The school is large and diverse by enrollment, which may appeal to families who value that mix. The variation in math proficiency from one grade to the next is a detail worth understanding better before enrolling.
See more original research from School Decision →