Mardela Middle & High, Mardela Springs MD

Original Research by School Decision on Mardela Middle & High

Mardela Middle & High serves students from sixth through twelfth grade in a single combined building in the small town of Mardela Springs. The school is the only secondary option in this part of Wicomico County, drawing from a largely rural and residential area where most families commute to jobs in Salisbury or Seaford, Delaware. The town itself is compact and quiet, with a historic core that once attracted tourists to its mineral springs; today it functions as a bedroom community, and civic life centers on the school and the town hall. Because the school sits within the town limits, it feels integrated into the community rather than set apart on a large campus.

Academically, the picture is mixed with a clear bright spot in English language arts. Across all three tested middle-school grades, roughly three in five students reached proficient or above on the state MCAP ELA assessment last year. That is a solid result, one that positions the school reasonably well in literacy. Math tells a different story. In sixth grade about one in six students were proficient; seventh grade showed improvement, with roughly two in five proficient; but eighth grade dropped back to about one in five. Overall math proficiency across those grades is low, and a parent may want to ask how the school supports students who are below grade level in mathematics and whether there are interventions that carry into high school. Science results, measured in eighth grade, show about a quarter of students proficient, and social studies at roughly two-fifths proficient. The data available covers only the middle-school grades; state assessment results for high school courses, such as Algebra I or English 10, were not included in this profile, and no graduation rate was reported. That may simply reflect how the state reports the school’s data, but a family with high school students should look for that information directly from the school or district.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. More than two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is meaningful but not unusually high for a rural Maryland school. The school’s operational status is regular public, not a charter or magnet, and it receives Title I funding status that was not specified. Information on special education and English learner populations, discipline, attendance, staffing ratios, and specific course offerings like Advanced Placement or dual credit was not available in the data, leaving gaps that families would need to fill by visiting or contacting the school.

Housing in the area is moderately priced relative to state and national benchmarks, with typical home values around the mid-two-hundred-thousand range. That aligns with the area’s character as a stable, commuter-oriented community without rapid new development. The district recently opened a new elementary school in Salisbury and maintains a facilities master plan that guides long-term upgrades, though no specific plans for Mardela Middle & High were mentioned.

This is a school where a student can move from sixth grade through high school graduation without changing buildings, which offers continuity but also means a wide age range under one roof. The academic strengths are in English, while math and science proficiency are areas where the school’s results are below what many families might hope for. Without more detailed program information or high school outcome data, the full picture is incomplete, but the available evidence suggests a school that serves a tight-knit rural community with uneven academic performance that warrants a closer look, especially in mathematics.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 78 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

244 schools plotted. 22 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 617%

School 17% · district not reported

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 738%

School 38% · district not reported

▲ 26 pts above state median

Grade 820%

School 20% · district not reported

▲ 14 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 657%

School 57% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 759%

School 59% · district not reported

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 863%

School 63% · district not reported

▲ 19 pts above state median

Science

Grade 826%

School 26% · district not reported

▼ 1 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 25% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median

This schoolWicomico 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-income39%Higher-income48%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income18%Higher-income45%28 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income47%23 pp gap