William Wirt Middle, Riverdale MD

Original Research by School Decision on William Wirt Middle

William Wirt Middle sits in Riverdale Park, a semi-urban Prince George’s County town with a distinct streetcar-suburb history. The town is bisected by Baltimore Avenue, a busy commercial corridor, and marked by a mix of pre-war houses, mid-century apartments, and newer development like the Riverdale Park Station mixed-use project with its anchor Whole Foods. The town’s density, highway corridors, and a planned Purple Line light rail connection expected in 2027 shape its commuter-oriented character. The school itself is a regular public middle school serving grades six through eight, part of the large Prince George’s County Public Schools district.

The student body is heavily Hispanic and Black, with a small share of Asian and white students. A very large percentage of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a high-need economic context. The total enrollment is substantial for a middle school, with the majority of students concentrated in seventh and eighth grades.

State assessment results from Maryland’s MCAP tests are reported for the 2024-25 school year. Proficiency rates in English language arts are low across all three grades, with the highest share in sixth grade and the lowest in eighth grade. In math, proficiency rates are very low in every grade, with eighth grade showing the weakest results of the three. Science proficiency in eighth grade, measured by the MISA, is also very low. Social studies proficiency in eighth grade is low. A separate data point for Algebra I, likely a small advanced cohort, shows a higher proficiency rate, but this applies to a narrow group. Only one year of assessment data is available here, so no trend on improvement or decline can be observed.

The district itself has made recent changes that directly affect families. Prince George’s County Public Schools adopted a new evidence-based literacy curriculum across all elementary grades starting in the 2023-24 school year. A district-wide boundary review conducted in 2024, with changes proposed for the 2025-26 school year, may alter attendance zones. The district also approved a budget increase for the 2025 fiscal year that directed additional funding toward teacher salaries and student support services.

No information was available on student discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or the availability of advanced coursework, enrichment programs, or special education supports at this school. A parent who needs to understand those areas would need to inquire directly with the school or district. No graduation rate applies, as the school serves only middle grades. No comparison data relative to other schools in Prince George’s County was produced because only one school-level metric was available in the set.

The test results at William Wirt Middle are clearly an area a parent or guardian would want to explore in depth with the school. Proficiency is low across the board, especially in math and science, and the single-year assessment snapshot cannot indicate whether instructional or programmatic changes are underway. The high economic need and large school size are relevant context for how resources and supports are distributed. The district’s literacy initiative and upcoming boundary review are concrete developments that may influence what a student experiences at this school in the near term, but the academic outcomes as measured are the central fact for any family considering this middle school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 65%

School 5% · district not reported

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

Grade 76%

School 6% · district not reported

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 83%

School 3% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 634%

School 34% · district not reported

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 731%

School 31% · district not reported

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 824%

School 24% · district not reported

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

Science

Grade 85%

School 5% · district not reported

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 21% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 9 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 6Lower-income18%Higher-income22%4 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income14%Higher-income11%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income10%Higher-income15%5 pp gap