February 22, 2024 – MCPS Enrollment by Grade for the Past 5 Years
Background and Source Data
MCPS enrollment numbers by grade was determined for the school years:
- 2019-2020
- 2020-2021
- 2021-2022
- 2022-2023
- 2023-2024
Data sources are:
- All years except 2020-2021 (data not available): State of Maryland
- 2020-2021: MCPS
Results and Conclusions
Enrollment numbers are shown. Enrollment varied from 10,348 (grade K, 2020-2021) to 15,262 (grade 9 2022-2023).
Increases in enrollment numbers are colored green, decreases in enrollment numbers are colored red.
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Elementary grades K-5 and middle school grades 6-8 have generally had the most consistent decreases in enrollment. High school grades 9-12 have been more variable, with both increases and decreases, and with large changes (eg, grade 10 with a decrease of 666 students in fall 2021, but an increase of 1181 students in fall 2022).
All elementary grades (K-5) and middle school grades (6-8) showed decreased enrollment. All high school grades (9-12) showed increased enrollment.
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| School Year | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 |
| Total K-12 Enrollment | 160,338 | 156,968 | 154,354 | 156,014 | 154,359 |
Change in Enrollment
| School Level | Change in Enrollment |
| Elementary (K-5) | -5,432 |
| Middle (6-8) | -2,072 |
| High (9-12) | +1,525 |
Elementary schools have lost over 5,400 students, or approximately 10 elementary schools with an average of 540 students. This is 200 classes (teachers) based on a class size of 27 students.
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Middle schools have lost over 2,000 students, or approximately 3 middle schools based on an average of about 700 students. High schools have gained over 1,500 students, or 1 small high school.
Note that MCPS and Maryland include prekindergarten enrollment as part of the total enrollment numbers. There were 245 fewer students enrolled in 2023-2024 than in 2019-2020.
| School Year | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 |
| Pre-K Enrollment | 4,680 | 3,596 | 3,639 | 4,308 | 4,435 |
In summary, changes in enrollment vary by grade and school level. Elementary and middle schools showed decreases in enrollment, while high schools showed increases in enrollment. Therefore, more teacher positions may be needed for high school (such as grade 10 courses) than elementary school (such as grades K-1).
See more articles by Moderately MOCO on enrollment here
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