The reported proficiency rate for Science is 30%.
Original Research by School Decision on Clear Spring High
Clear Spring High School serves as the single high school for the tiny town of Clear Spring in western Washington County, Maryland. The building sits on Broadfording Road within a community that locals describe as roughly three blocks long along Cumberland Street, where most businesses have closed and the surrounding farmland is being bought up by developers. The town functions primarily as a quiet residential place, with churches, service organizations, and volunteerism anchoring civic life. For families considering this school, the setting is rural and small, with a population that has held steady in recent years.
The high school itself enrolls students in grades nine through twelve. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with small shares of Hispanic and Black students, and a small number of Asian students or those identifying as two or more races. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a moderate figure that places the school in a middle economic range relative to other schools statewide.
Academically, the picture is mixed based on state assessment results from the most recent year available. In English language arts, a solid majority of students scored at the proficient level or above, a clear strength. In math and algebra, proficiency rates were lower, with roughly three in ten students reaching the proficient mark. Science assessment results show a similar proportion, though that data is for grade eight, which falls outside the high school’s grade span. A parent may want to clarify with the school how that eighth-grade science result relates to the high school, or whether it reflects a different testing population. There is only one year of assessment data available, so no trend is observable. The school did not have a reported graduation rate in the data provided, which is an important gap for any parent evaluating the school.
Clear Spring High hosts the county’s Academy of Agricultural and Environmental Science, a specialized program that draws on the surrounding farmland and rural context. The school’s program offerings beyond that were not detailed in the data available.
The school is part of Washington County Public Schools, a district that is currently undergoing several changes that affect families. The district is implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a multiyear state reform that includes expanded pre-kindergarten access, increased teacher salaries, and expanded career technology programs at the technical high school. The school board has also approved a redistricting plan affecting elementary school attendance boundaries in the Hagerstown area, which takes effect in the 2025-2026 school year. A voter-approved school construction bond will fund a new elementary school and renovations to existing buildings across the district. These district-wide developments could influence future enrollment patterns and facility quality at Clear Spring High indirectly, but the high school itself is not directly mentioned in those plans.
The housing market around Clear Spring is relatively affordable. Typical home values are below the state median, and monthly mortgage costs are lower than the national average. Rents are also modest. For families moving into the area, the town offers a low-cost entry point compared to many Maryland communities, though the town lacks the commercial amenities and employment base of larger places like Hagerstown, which is a short drive east. Most residents likely commute for work.
Overall, Clear Spring High School provides a small, rural high school experience with a predominantly white student body and moderate economic diversity. Its academic profile shows a clear strength in English language arts, while math and science proficiency are areas where a parent may want to investigate further. The limited data on graduation rates, course access, and student discipline means a family should seek additional information directly from the school or district to fill out the picture. The school’s agricultural academy is a distinctive offering that suits students interested in that field. For a family looking for a quiet community and a compact high school, Clear Spring High is a straightforward option, but the thinness of publicly available performance data makes it a school that requires some digging to fully assess.
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