Maryland’s top-rated schools of 2026: See how your school ranks

More schools earned top ratings on the annual Maryland School Report Card this year, a reflection of rising test scores and a decline in chronic student absences.

Some 89 schools improved their ratings from last year to four or five stars, with several districts, such as Montgomery, Howard and Baltimore counties, making significant progress. The report card, which rates schools from one to five stars based on a variety of academic and nonacademic factors, was released Thursday by the Maryland State Department of Education.

Schools on the lower end of the rating scale also saw some improvement. Prince George’s saw more schools receive three- and four-star ratings this year.

Nearly 89% of schools across the state earned three, four or five stars, slightly above the 2025 results. And half of all schools earned four or five stars, up significantly from last year.

The ratings continue “to serve as a critical measure of how well we are supporting every learner,” said state school Superintendent Carey Wright in a press release.

Maryland has published the ratings most years since 2018, but state leaders are working on a new, more nuanced framework for judging schools they believe will give parents a better guide to quality. It is expected to roll out next fall.

The new ratings are expected to place more emphasis on students’ academic progress from one year to the next than the previous ratings did, and to eliminate measures that nearly all schools can meet.

While this year’s ratings are heavily weighted toward academic factors, they also take into account indications of success such as graduation rates, surveys, whether students have access to a broad curriculum and the percentage of students who miss more than 10% of school, called chronic absenteeism.

The statewide chronic absenteeism rate fell by 2.2 percentage points last year to 22.8%, a significant drop from the high of 30.9% in the 2021-22 school year. State education leaders said they believe that better attendance may have helped improve school ratings this year. The slight rise in scores on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program may have contributed, too.

In Maryland’s suburbs, Montgomery, Howard, Harford and Baltimore counties have the largest number of five-star schools, but Worcester County on the Eastern Shore has the largest percentage of schools earning five stars in the state. Worcester schools also have some of the best scores on state tests despite pockets of economically disadvantaged students who tend to need more support.

Montgomery saw one of the greatest gains in the state, doubling its number of five-star schools to 36, and Howard added eight five-star schools, bringing its total to 18.

Almost all Baltimore County schools received the same or better rating this year. Nineteen more schools earned four or five stars, bringing the total to 93 county schools with one of the top two ratings.

In Anne Arundel County, few schools changed their ratings. Twelve schools earned five stars, three fewer than last year.

Prince George’s County has six five-star schools, the same number as last year, but saw a notable increase in its number of three- and four-star schools.

A few of the region’s top high schools lost a star, including Walt Whitman and Winston Churchill in Montgomery County, and Hereford High in Baltimore County, all of which went from five to four stars.

However, in Howard County and Baltimore City, some high schools regained five-star ratings after earning four stars last year: Centennial High, Marriotts Ridge High, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Baltimore School for the Arts.

Baltimore City reduced the number of its schools that received the lowest ratings this year. The city now has seven fewer one- and two-star schools.

Several city schools — The Crossroads School, City Neighbors Charter, Armistead Gardens and Patterson Park Public Charter — improved their ratings from three to four stars.

Many rural school districts had schools that fared well on the ratings, even if they didn’t attain a lot of five-star ratings. St. Mary’s, Cecil, Calvert, Talbot, Caroline, Queen Anne’s, Worcester and Garrett counties have no one- or two-star schools.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.