The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Georgian Forest Elementary
Georgian Forest Elementary, a regular public school in Silver Spring serving prekindergarten through fifth grade, operates within the country’s largest school system, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The school sits in a community that is densely populated, highly diverse, and well-connected to Washington, D.C., with a walkable downtown core anchored by a major transit center and a long-running redevelopment push that has added mixed-use buildings and cultural venues like the AFI Silver Theatre. The wider Silver Spring area blends urban and inner-suburban neighborhoods, and the school’s enrollment of roughly 550 students reflects that diversity: a substantial share of students are Hispanic, with smaller Black, White, Asian, and multiracial populations represented. About six in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a figure that places the school’s economic need above the district average.
On the Maryland state assessments, administered through the MCAP in English language arts and math and the MISA in science, results come in well below the midpoint among Montgomery County elementary schools. In third-grade math, roughly one in five students scored proficient or above; in fourth and fifth grade math, the share was similar. English language arts results were somewhat stronger but still low, with about one in four third graders, three in ten fourth graders, and one in four fifth graders reaching proficiency. Science results at grade five were the weakest, with roughly one in seven students proficient. These are consistent across grades, with no single year or subject where performance rises to a level a typical parent would find reassuring. A parent may want to ask the school what specific interventions or supports are in place, especially given that the district recently adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum—Benchmark Advance and HMH Into Reading—which began in the 2023-24 school year and affects how all elementary students learn to read.
The school has no high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, course access, and special education or English learner populations were not available, making it difficult to assess the school’s climate or student supports beyond the test results. The absence of these fields means a parent cannot see, for example, the share of students with an individualized education plan or the rate of chronic absence, both of which are useful context for understanding a school’s day-to-day environment.
Georgian Forest is one elementary school in a large, well-resourced district that commands roughly half of Montgomery County’s annual budget, a level of public investment that funds infrastructure, staff salaries, and programs across all grade levels. MCPS is also conducting ongoing boundary studies that could eventually shift attendance zones, which a parent in the area would want to monitor. The local housing market, anchored by the Silver Spring ZIP code, shows home values and rents that are moderately above state benchmarks, with affordability stretched for many households. The community itself is served by the Paul Sarbanes Transit Center, with Metro, MARC, and bus connections, and by a network of creek-valley parks and trails that offer outdoor recreation within a short distance.
For a family weighing this school, the core picture is one of a high-needs, diverse elementary school in a transit-rich, redeveloping suburb, where academic proficiency on state tests is well below the surrounding county’s typical level. The district’s new literacy curriculum and its overall fiscal strength provide a foundation, but the data shows that, at this point, student outcomes lag. A parent looking at this school would want to dig into what the school offers beyond the test scores—after-school programs, parent engagement, class size, and any targeted academic support—to see if the fit matches what a child needs. Without those details, the available evidence points to a school with significant ground to cover in helping students meet grade-level standards.
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