The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in English language arts. The lowest is 45% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ashburton Elementary
Ashburton Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Bethesda, part of Montgomery County Public Schools. Bethesda itself is a mix of a dense downtown core around the Metro station and quieter residential neighborhoods, functioning as a major business and government center within the Washington metropolitan region and a national hub for medical research. The community is affluent and highly educated, anchored by large employers like the National Institutes of Health and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The housing market reflects this, with home values in the surrounding zip code well above national benchmarks, and rents following suit. The school sits within a community that has seen significant growth over recent decades, spurred by Metrorail expansion and development restrictions in nearby Washington, D.C., and the Purple Line light rail currently under construction will further connect the area.
The student body is roughly eight hundred students, making it a large elementary school by enrollment. The demographic composition is notably diverse, with no single racial or ethnic group forming a majority; White students make up the largest share, followed by Asian, Black, and Hispanic students each at a similar proportion, with a smaller share of students identifying as two or more races. About a modest share of the student population qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, and the proportion of bilingual or English learner students was not reported in the available data, though this information is often worth asking the school directly.
On state assessments, Ashburton’s results show a mixed but generally solid picture. In English language arts, a majority of students scored at the proficient level or above across all tested grades, with third and fifth graders performing particularly well. Math proficiency was also above the halfway mark, though there was some variation by grade, with fourth grade showing a softer result than the other two grades. In science, tested in fifth grade, about half of students reached the proficient threshold, a figure parents may want to discuss with the school to understand how their child might fare. Because this is a single year of data for the school, there is no trend line to examine yet to see if performance is improving or declining. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
As a regular public school within Montgomery County Public Schools, it follows the district’s curriculum. The district recently adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum across all its elementary schools, which affects how reading is taught at Ashburton. The district’s budget has grown substantially in recent years, and it is engaged in ongoing boundary studies as part of long-term facilities planning, meaning attendance zones could shift in the future, which is a factor for any family considering a home purchase based on school assignment.
Overall, Ashburton Elementary sits in a high-cost, well-educated community with a diverse student population. Academic results on state tests are generally strong in reading and math, with a softer spot in science that warrants a parent’s attention. The school offers a standard elementary program within a large, resource-rich district, and the main contextual factors are the community’s affluence, the district’s active planning processes, and the school’s size.
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