The reported proficiency rate for Science is 27%.
Original Research by School Decision on Albert Einstein High
Albert Einstein High sits in Kensington, a small historic town that functions as a bedroom community for Washington, D.C., commuters. The school itself is a regular public high school serving grades nine through twelve within the Montgomery County Public Schools system. Its enrollment is large for a high school, and the student body reflects substantial economic and ethnic diversity: a sizable share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and the largest group by race and ethnicity is Hispanic, followed by White, Black, Asian, students who identify with two or more races, and small numbers of Native American and Pacific Islander students. The community context matters here. Kensington’s compact Victorian-era core is walkable, with a train station, farmers’ market, and a historic district that has been preserved rather than rapidly redeveloped. Housing values in the area are elevated, and rents are high as well, which means the school’s economic diversity — with many families facing lower incomes — is a notable feature of the peer environment.
Academically, the picture is shaped by limited and uneven state testing data. The most recent results for English language arts, from a single school year, show that a strong majority of students met proficiency standards. That is a genuine strength. Mathematics results from the same year, however, tell a very different story: only a very small share of students scored proficient. The gap between those two subjects is stark. A parent considering this school will want to understand how the school supports math achievement and whether those results reflect a persistent trend or an isolated year. Because only one year of high school data is available for these subjects, there is no trend to examine. Science testing data comes from a different grade level — a grade eight assessment — and predates the current high school years, so it does not speak directly to the science instruction students receive at Albert Einstein.
Missing data also limits the picture. We looked for the school’s four-year graduation rate, but it was not reported. For a high school, that is a significant gap; a parent may want to ask the school directly what its graduation rate is and how it has changed over time. We also found no data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, or advanced course offerings such as Advanced Placement or dual enrollment. The district brief notes that MCPS has adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum and is conducting a systemwide boundary analysis that could eventually affect attendance zones, but those are district-level changes and their impact on this particular high school is not yet clear.
The school is part of a large county district that receives a substantial share of the county budget, reflecting a long-term fiscal commitment to schools. But what that means for Albert Einstein specifically — whether it benefits from strong resources, small class sizes, or a wide array of programs — is not available in the data. The school’s website and directory describe it as a regular public school, not a magnet or charter, and there is no Title I status reported.
For a family navigating the Kensington housing market — with its historic character, train access to Washington, and high home values — Albert Einstein High offers a large, diverse student body and a demonstrated strength in English language arts proficiency. The very low math proficiency is a clear area for inquiry, and the absence of graduation rate and program data means that a thorough conversation with the school itself is essential before drawing conclusions about the full academic pathway it provides.
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