The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in English language arts. The lowest is 48% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Clearspring Elementary
Clearspring Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in Damascus, a community in upper Montgomery County. The school is a regular public elementary school and is part of Montgomery County Public Schools, the large district that covers the county.
Damascus itself is a primarily residential area that has grown substantially in population while retaining a rural, small-town character. It sits at the intersection of several major roads and functions as a commercial center for surrounding rural communities. The area is known for family-owned farms, equestrian centers, and the Damascus Community Fair. Housing values in the zip code covering the school place it above the state median home value, and the cost of entry is significant relative to national income levels.
Enrollment at Clearspring is spread across the elementary grades, with slightly larger numbers in the upper grades. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Data on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available in the records reviewed.
On the Maryland state assessments, which are administered in grades three through five, Clearspring’s results show a mixed picture. In English language arts, the proportion of students scoring proficient or above varied by grade level, ranging from around three-fifths to nearly three-quarters. In mathematics, proficiency rates increased from roughly half in third grade to above three-fifths by fifth grade. On the fifth-grade science assessment, just under half of students scored proficient or above. Because only a single year of testing data was available, it is not possible to describe a trend.
Because Clearspring serves only elementary grades, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The school does not have advanced placement or career pathway programs, which are features of high schools. Parents looking for information on class sizes, teacher qualifications, or chronic absenteeism will find that those details were not available in the data examined. The comparison data that would position Clearspring alongside other schools in Montgomery County was not usable, because the cohort of similar entities was too small for a meaningful comparison.
Montgomery County Public Schools has adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum, which began in the 2023-24 school year and affects how reading is taught across all district elementary schools. The district’s operating budget has continued to grow, and it accounts for a large share of county spending, a pattern that shapes local property tax commitments. The district has also been conducting a systemwide boundary analysis as part of its long-term facilities planning, a process that could eventually affect school attendance areas.
For a family considering Clearspring Elementary, the school offers a regular elementary program in a community that balances suburban growth with rural roots. The academic results on state tests vary by subject and grade, a parent may want to discuss with the school how instruction addresses areas where proficiency is lower. The absence of several standard data points, such as special education and English learner counts, means that a parent looking for a full picture of student support will need to gather that information directly from the school.
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