The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Captain James E. Daly Elementary
Captain James E. Daly Elementary is a regular public school in Germantown, Maryland, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Montgomery County Public Schools, the state’s largest school district. The school sits within a planned suburban community that has grown rapidly along the high-tech corridor northwest of Washington, D.C. Germantown is noted for its racial and ethnic diversity, and that diversity is reflected in Daly’s enrollment, where the student body is majority Hispanic, with a substantial Black population and smaller shares of Asian, White, and multiracial students. A large majority of students come from households with low enough incomes to qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school in a high-poverty context. Enrollment is moderate for an elementary of this grade span, with noticeable growth in class size from kindergarten through fifth grade.
State assessment results from the most recent testing year provide the primary academic picture for this school, since elementary grades do not generate graduation rates or course-completion metrics. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above was low across grades three, four, and five, with the highest recorded proficiency in third grade and even lower rates in fourth and fifth. English language arts results were stronger, with roughly a third to just over two-fifths of students meeting the proficiency bar depending on grade level, though still below a majority. Fifth-grade science proficiency, measured by the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment, was also low. These numbers indicate that a majority of students at Daly are not yet reaching state-defined academic benchmarks, particularly in math and science. The data does not include rates for special populations such as students receiving special education services or English learners, so it is not possible from this evidence alone to see how those groups are performing relative to their peers. A parent may want to ask the school directly about supports for students who are behind grade level, especially in math.
The district has made recent curriculum changes, adopting a new elementary English language arts program that affects all its elementary schools, and continues a long-term boundary analysis that could shift attendance zones. Montgomery County Public Schools commands a large share of the county budget, but district-level funding does not guarantee school-level outcomes. Daly’s performance is best understood in light of its local circumstances: a high-poverty, highly diverse elementary school in a large, well-resourced district, where proficiency rates remain well below the district’s overall averages.
The housing market in Germantown is relatively expensive, with home values above the national median and monthly rents that consume a large share of typical income. The community is car-oriented, with a planned town center that includes a library, arts center, and transit connections, but most residential areas are spread out and connected by major roads. For families considering this school, the combination of a high-poverty student population, modest test results, and the broader district’s resources creates a picture worth exploring further through a visit and conversation with the school leadership. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing were not available in the source material, so those dimensions of the school environment cannot be assessed here.
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