Maryland's Best School Districts: New Rankings Released

MARYLAND — The Howard County Public School System was rated Maryland's best school district in Niche's 2023 Best Schools and Districts rankings. The education platform released its annual scorecards on Tuesday.

Niche gave the Howard County Public School System a letter grade of A+. Grades in specific categories were:

Academics: A
Teachers: A-
Clubs and activities: A
Sports: A
Resources and facilities: A-
Diversity: A
College prep: A+
Administration: B+
Food: C+

The district has 57,293 students in 77 schools. It earned high marks from students, parents and teachers.

Despite having the best ratings in Maryland, the Howard County Public School System was ranked the 307th best district in the country. Niche ranked 10,751 school districts nationwide.

For more information, read the full report on the Howard County Public School System.

Here are Niche's full Maryland rankings and letter grades:

1. Howard County Public School System, A+
2. Montgomery County Public Schools, A
3. Worcester County Public Schools, A
4. Carroll County Public Schools, A
5. Calvert County Public Schools, A-
6. Frederick County Public Schools, A-
7. Queen Anne's County Public Schools, A-
8. Harford County Public Schools, A-
9. St. Mary's County Public Schools, A-
10. Washington County Public Schools, A-
11. Anne Arundel County Public Schools, B+
12. Talbot County Public Schools, B+
13. Charles County Public Schools, B+
14. Baltimore County Public Schools, B
15. Wicomico County Public Schools, B
16. Caroline County Public Schools, B
17. Cecil County Public Schools, B
18. Allegany County Public Schools, B-
19. Garrett County Public Schools, B-
20. Kent County Public Schools, C+
21. Dorchester County Public Schools, C+
22. Prince George's County Public Schools, C
23. Baltimore City Public Schools, C
24. Somerset County Public Schools, C

Niche said it created its rankings to arm families with valuable information. The scorecards inform residents with quantitative and qualitative details on schools in their area or in neighborhoods they're not yet familiar with.

The platform also ranked 92,743 public schools and 30,112 private schools in the 2023 report.

Nine public high schools in Howard County cracked Maryland's top 25. Eleven public high schools in Montgomery County were ranked in the state's top 25. Montgomery County also dominated the private high school rankings.

Related: Maryland's Best High Schools: New Rankings Released

The rankings differ from others that rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance. Niche's ratings also include input from students, alumni and parents. They similarly consider quantitative data from sources like the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities.

To learn more about the school district rankings and methodology, read Maryland's full report on Niche.