Beltsville Academy, Beltsville MD

Original Research by School Decision on Beltsville Academy

Beltsville Academy is a regular public school in Prince George’s County that serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is a single-campus school located on Wicomico Avenue in the census-designated place of Beltsville, an auto-dependent suburban community in northern Prince George’s County with a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and a major federal research presence. The school is part of Prince George’s County Public Schools, a large district that recently adopted a new evidence-based literacy curriculum, approved a budget increase directing more funding toward teacher salaries and student supports, and conducted a boundary review to address overcrowding — changes a parent may want to track as they can affect classroom experience and school assignment.

The school’s enrollment is substantial for a pre-K-through-eighth-grade building. The student body is diverse, with a large majority of students identifying as Hispanic or Latino, followed by smaller shares identifying as Black, White, Asian, and other racial and ethnic groups. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the economic context of the surrounding community. The school is a regular public school and is not a charter or magnet; its Title I status was not reported in the data.

On state assessments, the picture varies notably by subject and grade. In English language arts, the school shows a pattern where proficiency rates are strongest in the middle grades and weaker in the early elementary and upper elementary years. The aggregate across all tested grades and students places the school at a level where about two out of every five students met the state’s proficiency benchmark. In math, the results are considerably lower across the board, with only a small share of students demonstrating proficiency in most grades. Science and social studies results, available only for certain grade levels, also show low proficiency rates, particularly in fifth-grade science. The school’s Algebra I results, available as a single-year data point, show a much higher proficiency rate, though this represents a specific course-taking cohort rather than a general grade-level assessment. State testing data for the 2024-25 school year is from Maryland’s MCAP and MISA assessments; participation rate data was not available for review. Because the school serves through eighth grade and not high school, no graduation rate data is reported.

The academic profile is one where a parent would want to look into the school’s instructional approach and student support systems more closely, particularly in math, where the proficiency rates across every tested grade are very low. The English language arts results present a mixed picture, with some grades performing at a higher level than others. The data available for this school covers only a single year, so it is not possible to assess whether these results represent an established trend or a recent shift.

Beltsville itself is a community shaped by its role as a commuter suburb for Washington, D.C., and by the presence of the massive USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, which dominates the eastern portion of the area. Housing values in the local ZIP code area have risen moderately, and rents have also increased, consistent with broader regional trends. The typical commute for residents is by car, and the built environment is suburban and highway-oriented. The school’s location on Wicomico Avenue places it in a residential area away from the main commercial corridor along US 1.

For a family evaluating Beltsville Academy, the key takeaway is that this is a school serving a large, diverse elementary and middle school population in a suburban setting where academic performance on state tests, particularly in math and science, is low. The English language arts results have some relative bright spots in the middle grades, but overall proficiency across tested subjects is below what many families would expect. The district-level changes underway, including a literacy initiative and a boundary review, could influence the school’s programming and attendance zone in the coming years. This is a school where a parent would benefit from visiting, talking to teachers and administrators about how they support students who are below grade level, and understanding what the school’s own goals and improvement plans are.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 327%

School 27% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 47%

School 7% · district not reported

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 511%

School 11% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 611%

School 11% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 712%

School 12% · district not reported

even with state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 82%

School 2% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · district not reported

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

Grade 419%

School 19% · district not reported

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 530%

School 30% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 656%

School 56% · district not reported

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 757%

School 57% · district not reported

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · district not reported

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

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · district not reported

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · district not reported

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 21% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

This schoolPrince George's 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 4Lower-income8%Higher-income15%7 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income24%Higher-income43%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income18%Higher-income20%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income19%Higher-income19%0 pp gap