The top reported proficiency rate is 84% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lime Kiln Middle
Lime Kiln Middle School serves sixth through eighth grade students in Fulton, a fast-growing residential suburb in southern Howard County. The school is part of Howard County Public Schools, a district that has recently opened a new high school and is working through a strategic plan with five focus areas tied to the state’s Blueprint for the Future. The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
Reading and writing scores are a clear strength. Across all three grade levels, a large majority of students meet the state’s proficiency bar on the MCAP English language arts assessment. The share of students scoring proficient or above is high and consistent from sixth grade through eighth grade. Science and social studies results, tested only in eighth grade, also show that most students perform at or above the proficient level. In science on the MISA assessment, roughly two out of three eighth graders are proficient, and in social studies about three out of four are proficient.
Math presents a more mixed picture and is an area a parent may want to investigate further with the school. In sixth grade, about half of students score proficient or above on the MCAP math assessment. In seventh grade, that share declines, and by eighth grade it drops further. However, the school also offers advanced math courses such as algebra 1, algebra 2, and geometry, and students enrolled in those courses show very high proficiency rates. This suggests that the overall eighth-grade math figure is pulled down by the large number of students who are taking grade-level math, while a smaller group doing advanced coursework performs at a high level. A family with a student who is strong in math may find the advanced pathway robust, while a family whose child needs support in grade-level math should ask about interventions and how the school addresses the widening proficiency gap between grades.
The student body is diverse. White students and Asian students each make up a substantial share, with Black students and students of two or more races also well represented. Hispanic students and American Indian or Alaska Native students make up a smaller presence. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals is low, reflecting the affluent suburban character of Fulton. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so a family with a child in either category would want to ask the school directly about available supports and services. The enrollment is large for a middle school.
Fulton itself has grown rapidly over the past two decades, driven largely by the Maple Lawn mixed-use development, which includes a Main Street-style shopping district, offices, townhomes, and single-family homes. The community sits between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and many residents commute by car. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is a major nearby employer. Home values in the area are well above national and state medians, making this a high-cost housing market. The median travel time to work is long, typical for a commuter-heavy suburb.
A parent considering Lime Kiln should weigh the school’s strong English language arts and social studies performance against the sharp grade-by-grade drop in math proficiency at the non-advanced level. The school offers advanced math pathways that appear to serve well the students who qualify for them, but families whose children struggle with math may want to ask what support structures are in place before the gap widens. The school sits inside a well-funded, recently strategic-planning-focused district with growing teacher salaries and per-pupil spending, but also with the tax pressures that come with that growth. The broader community context is one of rapid development, high housing costs, and a car-dependent suburban layout with a walkable core only in the Maple Lawn district.
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