Here's How Montgomery County Public Schools Rank: Niche

ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County has the second-best public school system in Maryland, right behind Howard County, according to a new set of rankings released by data compiler Niche.com.

The list was released as part of Niche's 2020 K-12 rankings. To arrive at the rankings, Niche looked at more than 94,000 public schools, 4,100 private schools, and nearly 11,000 school districts across the country. The rankings are meant to help parents and students find schools that best fit their needs. (You can read more about the methodology here).

"Unlike traditional school rankings, which rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance, Niche's rankings provide a real-life view of what it's like to attend a given school," the company said in a news release.

Comments from current students, alumni, and parents are included in the analysis, as well as observations about things like campus life, extracurricular activities, sports options, diversity, and programs for gifted and special needs students.

"Parents and students need more than test-score data," Luke Skurman, CEO at Niche, said. "They need to understand what it's really like to attend a school before they start the application or registration process."

Each Maryland school district received a letter grade in the following categories: Academics; Diversity; Teachers; College Prep; Clubs & Activities; Health & Safety; Administration; Sports; Food; and Resources & Facilities.

Howard County earned an A or an A+ in all categories except for health and safety (A-). Last year, Howard County was also No. 1. Like Howard County, Montgomery County's ranking hasn't changed from last year. (See last year's list as a comparison: Maryland's Best School Districts: New Rankings Released).

Niche gave Montgomery County Public Schools the following grades:

• Academics - A
• Teachers - A
• Clubs and Activities - A
• Administration - A-
• Food - C
• Diversity - A+
• College Prep - A+
• Health and Safety - B
• Sports - A+
• Resources and Facilities - B

Here's the full ranking:

1. Howard County Public Schools
2. Montgomery County Public Schools
3. Worcester County Public Schools
4. Carroll County Public Schools
5. Frederick County Public Schools
6. Calvert County Public Schools
7. Harford County Public Schools
8. Queen Anne's County Public Schools
9. Washington County Public Schools
10. St. Mary's County Public Schools
11. Baltimore County Public Schools
12. Anne Arundel County Public Schools
13. Talbot County Public Schools
14. Charles County Public Schools
15. Caroline County Public Schools
16. Garrett County Public Schools
17. Wicomico County Public Schools

Not ranked by Niche.com but given an overall letter grade by Niche:

• Allegany County Public Schools, B-
• Cecil County Public Schools, B-
• Kent County Public Schools, B-
• Prince George's County Public Schools, C
• Somerset County Public Schools, C
• Baltimore City Public Schools, C-
• Dorchester County Public Schools, C-