The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Deep Run Elementary
Deep Run Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in Elkridge, an unincorporated community in Howard County positioned along the US-1 corridor between Baltimore and Washington. The school is part of Howard County Public Schools, a district that opened its thirteenth high school in recent years and has centered its strategic plan on attendance, early literacy, middle school math proficiency, college and career readiness, and discipline practices. The district has also invested in teacher and staff salary growth, which has increased per-pupil spending.
Elkridge itself has experienced rapid population growth, with a corresponding rise in residential development. The community is car-oriented, lacks a traditional downtown, and concentrates its commercial activity along Washington Boulevard. Patapsco Valley State Park and Rockburn Branch Park provide outdoor recreation, and the historic Thomas Viaduct is a defining local landmark. The median age in Elkridge skews young, and the population has grown substantially in recent years, which has implications for school enrollment and housing demand.
Deep Run Elementary enrolls a diverse student body. A majority of students are Hispanic, with smaller shares of White, Black, Asian, and multiracial students. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which is a marker of economic need. The school serves a sizable number of English learners and students with disabilities, though exact counts were not provided.
On the Maryland state assessments, known as MCAP for math and English language arts and MISA for science, proficiency rates vary by grade and subject. In third grade, roughly two in five students scored proficient or above in math, and close to half did so in English language arts. Fourth-grade results were similar in math and slightly stronger in English language arts, where half of students met the proficiency bar. Fifth grade showed a noticeable drop: about one in five students reached proficiency in math, and just under two in five did so in English language arts. Science proficiency among fifth graders was notably low, with a small share of students scoring at the proficient level. These figures represent a single year of testing, so trend data is not yet available to show whether performance is improving or declining.
The school's overall proficiency index could not be compared to other schools in Howard County because the district-level comparison set included only one entity at this school level, making a relative positioning impossible. No data was available on chronic absenteeism or graduation rate, the latter because the school does not serve high school grades.
For a family considering Deep Run Elementary, the school offers a standard elementary program in a rapidly growing suburban community. The student body is economically diverse and majority Hispanic, and the school serves a significant number of students who are learning English or have special education needs, though specific percentages were not reported. The academic results show a mixed picture, with fifth-grade performance, particularly in math and science, being an area a parent may want to discuss with the school. The broader Howard County district has articulated clear priorities around early reading and middle school math, which may influence the instructional focus at the elementary level. Housing in the area is expensive relative to national benchmarks, reflecting the affluent profile of Howard County generally, though Elkridge's housing stock and rents are still substantial. Families moving to the area for the school should be aware that the district has recently adjusted attendance boundaries with the opening of a new high school, which could affect feeder patterns over time.
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