The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in English language arts. The lowest is 6% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on James Ryder Randall Elementary
James Ryder Randall Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the Clinton area of Prince George’s County. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school. The student body draws from the surrounding residential subdivisions and strip-commercial corridors that make up this unincorporated community, a car-dependent bedroom suburb where most adults commute out for work, primarily to Washington, D.C. The school sits in a part of the county that experienced rapid suburban growth from the 1980s through the 2000s and has since matured into a community nearing buildout, with modest ongoing population increase.
The school enrolls a student population that is roughly evenly split between students who are Black and students who are Hispanic, with small numbers of white, Asian, multiracial, and Native American students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker that the school serves many families with lower household incomes. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans and the share classified as English learners was not available in the profile.
State testing results from the most recent school year tell a story that families will want to weigh carefully. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above varied by grade. It was below the midpoint in grade three and grade five, and just under half in grade four. In mathematics, the proficiency rates were lower across all three tested grades, and the declines from grade to grade are worth noting: third-grade math proficiency was reported at a modest level, while fourth grade was somewhat lower and fifth grade was a small single-digit figure. Science results for fifth graders were also very low. These are the available data points from Maryland’s state assessments, and they suggest that the school faces real challenges in moving students to grade-level standards, particularly in math and science. A parent may want to ask the school directly about the specific supports and interventions in place for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks.
The school has not served high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and the profile contains only one year of testing data, so no trend can be established. The comparison tool that positions the school relative to other districts in Prince George’s County could not produce a rating because the cohort of districts with comparable data was too small for a meaningful comparison.
On the district level, Prince George’s County Public Schools has made several moves that affect this elementary school. It approved a budget increase that included additional money for teacher salaries and student support services. It also implemented a district-wide literacy initiative adopting a new reading curriculum based on the science of reading, which means that students at Randall are learning to read through that approach. A 2024 boundary review proposed changes for the upcoming school year to address overcrowding and facility use, which could affect which elementary school a child in this attendance zone is assigned to.
Housing in the Clinton ZIP code sits near the state median home value, and rents are moderate relative to national benchmarks. The area offers limited public transit and no walkable downtown, so getting to and from school almost always requires a car. Nearby parks and a branch library add some community resources, but the school’s own campus is one of several distributed across the CDP without a concentrated civic center.
James Ryder Randall Elementary is a school where a family will find a diverse student body in a settled suburban setting, but the academic results as measured by state tests are below what many parents would hope to see, especially in mathematics and science. The new district literacy curriculum is a concrete recent change that may begin to shift reading outcomes over time, but the current proficiency picture is one that calls for a proactive conversation with the school about how it addresses unfinished learning.
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