The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Jonathan Hager Elementary
Jonathan Hager Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in Hagerstown, Maryland, as part of Washington County Public Schools. The school is located in a community with deep roots in transportation and commerce. Hagerstown functions as the commercial and industrial hub for a tri-state area and has a walkable historic downtown core, though the wider city is largely auto-oriented, shaped by its network of interstates and railroads. The surrounding natural landscape consists of rolling hills and fertile farmland. The broader metropolitan area has been among the fastest-growing in Maryland, a significant shift for a place that was once defined by its older industrial base.
The school itself is a regular public school and is not a charter or magnet. The enrollment is large for an elementary school serving these grades. The student body is racially and economically diverse. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The largest demographic groups are students who identify as Black, followed by White, Hispanic, and students of two or more races. There are also small numbers of Asian and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Data on the share of students with individualized education programs or English learner status was not available in the data provided, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the range of supports available for these populations.
The state assessment results, from the MCAP for English language arts and math and the MISA for science, show that across all tested grades, the share of students scoring proficient or above was modest in every subject. In English language arts, the most recent scores were similar across third, fourth, and fifth grades, with roughly a third of students meeting the bar. In math, the percentages were lower, with about a fifth to a quarter of students reaching proficiency depending on the grade. In fifth-grade science, the share was also about a quarter. These results represent a single year of data, so there is no trend line to examine. A parent considering this school may want to understand what academic interventions or enrichment programs are in place to address these proficiency levels.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The data did not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access. The comparison set that would position this school relative to other elementary schools in Washington County was too small to produce a meaningful comparison, as the data only contained information for Jonathan Hager itself. This leaves the school’s performance in a local context somewhat undefined by the available evidence.
The district, Washington County Public Schools, is in the midst of several significant changes. It is implementing the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, a major state education reform law that has already expanded prekindergarten access and increased teacher salaries, with a focus on career and college readiness pathways. The school board also approved a redistricting plan that will redraw elementary school attendance boundaries in the Hagerstown area beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. This means that the attendance zone for Jonathan Hager Elementary may change, which could affect which neighborhoods feed into this school. Voters also approved a school construction bond that includes funding for a new elementary school and major renovations to existing buildings across the district, signaling ongoing investment in facilities.
For a family weighing this school, the picture is one of a large, diverse elementary school in a growing region, where state test scores are below the levels many parents hope to see. The district-level changes around redistricting and facility investment could meaningfully alter the school’s attendance zone and physical plant in the near term. A parent would want to confirm which streets feed into Jonathan Hager under the new boundaries and to discuss with the school the specific strategies it uses to move all students toward proficiency.
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