Benjamin Banneker Middle, Burtonsville MD

Original Research by School Decision on Benjamin Banneker Middle

Benjamin Banneker Middle School serves grades six through eight in Burtonsville, a suburban census-designated place in the northeast corner of Montgomery County. The school sits on Old Columbia Pike, the same road that holds Burtonsville Elementary and Paint Branch High School, placing all three along a central corridor within this car-oriented community. Burtonsville itself is a racially diverse area of many distinct residential neighborhoods, centered on the intersection of Maryland Route 198 and U.S. Route 29, with steady population growth over recent decades.

The school is a regular public school within Montgomery County Public Schools, one of the largest districts in the state. The district has adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum in recent years and continues a systemwide boundary analysis as part of long-term facilities planning, though those changes affect elementary attendance zones and may not directly shift middle school boundaries. The district's operating budget has grown to a substantial share of the county's total budget, reflecting a sustained fiscal commitment that shapes resources across all schools.

Benjamin Banneker Middle enrolls a student body that is majority Black, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of Asian, white, and multiracial students. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a rate that places the school in a higher-need context within Montgomery County. The school serves grades six through eight and is not a charter or magnet school.

State assessment results from the most recent testing year show a clear pattern. In English language arts, proficiency rates across grades six, seven, and eight are in the range of roughly a quarter to two-fifths of students meeting the state's bar, with seventh grade the strongest and eighth grade the weakest. In mathematics, the rates are markedly lower, with a small single-digit share of students scoring proficient in seventh and eighth grade, and a modest share in sixth grade. Science and social studies results for eighth graders also show a small share of students reaching proficiency. The school also reports results for Algebra I and Geometry, where a larger share of test-takers scored proficient, though these courses are taken by a subset of students rather than the full grade. The overall picture is one where a majority of students are not meeting state proficiency benchmarks, particularly in math, where the numbers are very low.

The school is located in a suburban community that is car-oriented and centered on major highway intersections. Burtonsville has a number of distinct residential neighborhoods and has seen steady population growth. Housing values in the area are above the national median, and rents are also above the national median, reflecting the broader Washington D.C. metro area market. The school sits on Old Columbia Pike alongside the elementary and high school, placing it on a central corridor within the community.

For a family considering this school, the academic performance data is the central fact. Proficiency rates are low across subjects, and math results in particular are very low. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports and interventions are in place. The school is part of a large, well-funded district with a strong overall reputation, but this school's own results diverge from that district-level picture. The student body is majority Black and Hispanic, with a majority qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, and the school is located in a suburban setting with bus transit and highway access.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 616%

School 16% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 76%

School 6% · district not reported

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 82%

School 2% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 637%

School 37% · district not reported

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 826%

School 26% · district not reported

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Science

Grade 816%

School 16% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 50% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

This schoolMontgomery County Public Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income42%Higher-income58%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income23%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income22%Higher-income39%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income17%7 pp gap