The top reported proficiency rate is 15% in English language arts. The lowest is 6% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Francis Scott Key Elementary
Francis Scott Key Elementary is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in District Heights, a small, densely built municipality in Prince George's County, Maryland, roughly a half-hour commute from central Washington, D.C. The school is part of Prince George's County Public Schools, a large district that in recent years has increased its operating budget, adopted a district-wide literacy curriculum aligned with the science of reading, and conducted a boundary review to address overcrowding—changes that may affect which elementary school a child in the area attends.
District Heights itself is a compact, primarily residential community of Cape Cod-style homes from the 1940s and garden apartments. It has no traditional downtown; commercial activity is thin along Marlboro Pike, the main road. Most residents commute elsewhere for work, and the city's small land area and built-out character mean little new housing development. Home values and rents in the surrounding ZIP code are moderate relative to state and national benchmarks, and homeownership is common.
Enrollment at Key Elementary is about what you would expect for a school serving its grade band, and a substantial share of students—the large majority—qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker that the school serves a high-poverty population. The student body is predominantly Black, with a meaningful Hispanic presence, and small numbers of white, Asian, and multiracial students. Data on students receiving special education services or identified as English learners was not available, which a parent may want to follow up on directly with the school to understand what supports are in place.
The school's state test results from the most recent year show low rates of proficiency in all three tested subjects. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above in grades three, four, and five fell in the low to mid-teens. In math, proficiency was markedly lower, at roughly the same single-digit figure across all three tested grades. Fifth-grade science results showed a similarly low rate. These figures come from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) and the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA). Because only one year of data was available, there is no trend to compare against. Parents evaluating the school will want to understand what academic interventions and instructional strategies the school is using and whether the district's new literacy initiative has reached this campus.
No information was provided about programs such as art, music, physical education, or after-school offerings, nor about staffing ratios, chronic absenteeism, or discipline. Those gaps are notable; a parent should inquire about what enrichment and support are available beyond the core classroom.
This is a school that serves a community of working families, many of whom commute to jobs in the Washington area. The academic numbers indicate that most students are not yet meeting grade-level expectations on state assessments, which is a significant soft spot. That reality, combined with limited available data on special populations and programming, means a family considering this school would benefit from visiting, talking to the principal about the school improvement plan, and investigating whether the district's literacy initiative has taken hold in the building. For families who value a neighborhood school close to home and are prepared to be highly involved in their child's learning, Key Elementary is the local option. For those seeking higher average test scores or a wider range of program offerings, the broader district provides other choices, though access to them may depend on the outcomes of the recent boundary review.
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