The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Glen Haven Elementary
Glen Haven Elementary is a regular public school in Silver Spring, Maryland, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Located in the southeastern part of Montgomery County, the school sits within a community that is both densely urbanized near downtown and more residential farther out. The area has seen substantial redevelopment over the past two decades, with a walkable downtown core anchored by a major transit center that connects residents to Washington, D.C. and surrounding suburbs via Metro, MARC, and bus lines. The wider Silver Spring area is notably diverse, home to large Salvadoran, Ethiopian, Indian, and Chinese communities, and many residents were born outside the United States.
The school itself reflects that diversity. A substantial share of Glen Haven’s student body is Hispanic, with Black students also making up a meaningful portion, followed by White and smaller groups of Asian and multiracial students. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker of economic need that families often consider when evaluating a school’s context and resources. The school is part of Montgomery County Public Schools, a large district that recently adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum, a change that affects how reading is taught across all of its elementary schools. The district also continues to study school boundaries, something families in the area may want to track if they anticipate moves or changes in attendance zones.
On state assessments—the MCAP for math and English language arts, and the MISA for science—Glen Haven’s results are mixed. In third grade, a modest share of students met proficiency benchmarks in English language arts, but that rate was lower in fourth grade before rising again in fifth grade. Math proficiency rates were somewhat lower across all tested grades, and fifth-grade science proficiency was the weakest area, with a small proportion of students scoring at the proficient level. These numbers suggest that many students are working below grade-level expectations, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports are in place and how the school is addressing these gaps. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider.
The neighborhood around Glen Haven is part of a high-cost housing market. Home prices in the zip code are well above national averages, and rents also reflect the area’s demand. This economic context means that families living in the school’s attendance zone likely face significant housing costs, which can affect household budgets and community stability.
Several data points commonly used to understand a school’s environment were not available. Details on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, class sizes, and special education or English learner populations are missing from public records. These gaps often reflect the nature of the school’s grade band or data collection practices, but a parent may want to contact the school directly for that information. No information about specific programs, such as gifted and talented offerings or after-school activities, appeared in the data either.
Glen Haven Elementary serves a diverse and economically varied community in a growing, transit-connected part of Montgomery County. Its academic results are a mix of modest proficiency in some grades and subjects and lower performance in others. For a family considering this school, the most important additional steps would be to visit, ask about literacy instruction under the district’s new curriculum, and learn how the school supports students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks.
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