The top reported proficiency rate is 66% in English language arts. The lowest is 39% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Williamsport Elementary
Williamsport Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade and operates as a regular public school within Washington County Public Schools. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who are two or more races, Hispanic, Black, and Asian. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which is a common indicator of economic need in public schools. This is an elementary-only school, so there is no graduation rate or high school program to report.
On state assessments administered through the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, the school’s results show a pattern that varies by grade and subject. In third grade, a majority of students met proficiency expectations in both English language arts and math. Fourth-grade performance was the strongest of the three tested grades, with a large majority reaching proficiency in both subjects. Fifth-grade proficiency rates were lower in both English and math, and on the fifth-grade science assessment, fewer than half of students scored at the proficient level. A parent considering this school may want to ask how the school supports students in the upper elementary years, where the fifth-grade results suggest a noticeable step down.
The school offers a full prekindergarten program, which aligns with the district’s broader expansion of early childhood access under the state’s Blueprint for Maryland’s Future reform. That same reform is driving increased teacher salaries and expanded career technology offerings at the secondary level, though those changes affect the district as a whole rather than this elementary school directly.
Williamsport itself is a small historic town with a compact downtown core that has seen active revitalization efforts in recent years. A former power station that was once a major employer has closed, and a new institutional presence on the town’s periphery comes from a recently purchased facility now used by federal immigration enforcement. The town is part of a regional canal heritage initiative, and the C&O Canal National Historical Park provides a significant recreational and tourism anchor. Washington County Transit connects Williamsport to nearby Hagerstown.
At the district level, the school board recently approved a redistricting plan that redrew elementary attendance boundaries primarily in the Hagerstown area, taking effect in the upcoming school year. That plan affects a meaningful number of students, so families new to the area should confirm that Williamsport Elementary is the school assigned to their address. Voters also approved a school construction bond that includes funding for a new elementary school and renovations to existing buildings elsewhere in the county, though it is not clear from available data whether Williamsport Elementary is among the schools scheduled for renovation.
The comparison data that would place this school’s academic performance relative to other elementary schools in Washington County was not usable because the cohort was too small to draw a meaningful comparison. That is a gap in the available information, and a parent may want to ask the school or district directly for benchmark comparisons against nearby elementary schools. Special education and English learner population counts were also not reported in the available data, so the school’s level of service for those students is not visible from this profile.
This is a school of a size typical for a town of Williamsport’s scale. The academic picture is strongest in fourth grade and weakest in fifth-grade science, with math and English in the middle grades falling between those ends. A family looking at this school would want to visit, talk to the principal about how the school addresses the dip in fifth-grade performance, and confirm attendance boundaries given the recent district-wide redistricting.
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