The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Carter G Woodson Elementary
Carter G Woodson Elementary serves prekindergarten through fifth grade in Crisfield, a small, compact city on Maryland's Eastern Shore that was once a thriving seafood hub and is now more reliant on tourism, retail, and health care as economic anchors. The school is a regular public elementary school within Somerset County Public Schools, a district that has been under Maryland State Department of Education corrective action for low academic performance, a publicly reported intervention that shapes curriculum and staffing across all its schools.
On the most recent state assessments, administered as part of Maryland's MCAP and MISA tests, proficiency rates for math and reading were generally low, with math showing particular weakness. In third grade, fewer than one in five students scored at the proficient level or above in math, and by fourth grade the rate was lower still. Fifth-grade math proficiency was similarly modest. In English language arts, results were mixed: third-grade proficiency reached about two out of five students, fourth grade slipped to roughly one in three, and fifth grade landed in the mid-to-upper forties, making it the strongest tested subject at that grade level. Science, assessed only in fifth grade, saw about one in five students meet the proficiency threshold. For context, these are single-year results, so there is no trend to compare against. Parents may want to ask the school about the specific instructional approaches being used in math, given the pattern across multiple grades.
The student body is diverse. Roughly half of the students are white, a quarter are Black, and the remainder include Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races, with small numbers of Asian and American Indian students. The school serves a high-poverty population. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which typically qualifies the school for federal supports such as Title I, though the data does not confirm the school's official Title I status. Information on special education and English learner enrollment was not available, so a family with a child in either category would want to follow up directly with the school about services and staffing.
The community itself is very compact, with a flat topography and a walkable downtown core centered on Main Street and the Somers Cove Marina. Major local employers include McCready Memorial Hospital, the only hospital in the county, and a Sherwin-Williams plant that manufactures paintbrushes. The town has pursued a strategic revitalization plan in recent years, with some new condominium and retail development along the waterfront. Housing costs in the area are well below both the state and national medians, reflecting the rural, lower-cost nature of Somerset County.
As an elementary-only school, there is no graduation rate to report, and many typical high school indicators such as Advanced Placement or career-technical programs are not applicable here. The district-level corrective action is a backdrop that families may want to understand, as it likely influences teacher training, curriculum pacing, and resource allocation at Woodson. The data does not include information on teacher experience, class sizes, discipline rates, or chronic absenteeism, all of which a parent might investigate further by visiting the school or speaking with the principal.
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