The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in English language arts. The lowest is 6% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Pemberton Elementary
Pemberton Elementary is a regular public school in Salisbury, Maryland, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits within the Wicomico County Public Schools district. Salisbury itself is the largest city on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the county seat, a commercial and institutional hub where employers like TidalHealth Peninsula Regional, Perdue Farms, and Salisbury University anchor the local economy. The city has a historic downtown with a marina district, a free-admission zoo, and a civic center, while the built environment becomes more auto-oriented outside the core. The school’s attendance zone falls within this mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial corridors.
The student body at Pemberton Elementary is diverse. A majority of students are Black, with a substantial share of white students and smaller groups identifying as two or more races, Hispanic, or Asian. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator that many families in the area are navigating economic constraints. The school enrolls around five hundred students across the elementary grades, with class sizes that are comparable to other elementary schools in the district.
On state assessments, Pemberton Elementary’s results are low relative to state averages. In English language arts, just over a quarter of third and fourth graders scored proficient or above, while fifth graders posted a slightly higher rate. In mathematics, proficiency rates declined across the grades: third graders were near the school’s ELA average, but fourth and fifth graders were lower. Science results for fifth graders were very low, with a small single-digit percentage reaching proficiency. A parent reviewing these numbers will see a school where the majority of students are not meeting grade-level benchmarks on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program and the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment. The district as a whole has seen investment in elementary facilities, including a new replacement school for younger grades that opened recently, but that project does not directly affect Pemberton Elementary’s current performance picture.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism and discipline were not available in the provided material, so a parent may want to ask the school or district directly about attendance patterns and school climate. Civil rights data such as special education and English learner counts were also missing, though the school’s grade span means it serves children at ages when identification for those services commonly occurs.
Housing in the area around Pemberton Elementary is moderately priced relative to the state. Home values are below Maryland’s median, and rents are also more affordable. That context may matter for families deciding where to live based on school assignment, since the school sits in a region where home costs are manageable compared to other parts of the state.
Because the Wicomico County district is the only district in the county, no comparison to neighboring districts is possible. The school’s proficiency rates sit where they are without a local peer group to measure against. For a parent considering Pemberton Elementary, the central takeaway is straightforward: this is an economically diverse, mid-sized elementary school in a regional hub city, where academic proficiency on state tests is low and where a majority of students face economic disadvantage. The school’s strengths in programming or extracurricular offerings were not described in the data, so a family would want to visit and talk with staff to understand what supports are in place and how the school addresses the academic challenges reflected in the test scores.
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