Elementary school (grades K-5) · Bethesda, MD

Carderock Springs Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Carderock Springs Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 57/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 240048000798
0/100100/10057/100
👥 S:T ratio
34
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
27
📋 Attendance
99
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Carderock Springs Elementary earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 76% of Maryland schools.

#1 of 5
elementary schools in Bethesda · Resource Index
57
Resource Index · Higher
16.5:1
large classes for Maryland
5.0%
free-lunch eligible

Carderock Springs Elementary has class sizes larger than 76% of Maryland schools. Computed live against every Maryland school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Carderock Springs Elementary ranks #1 of 5 elementary schools in Bethesda, MD.

Enrollment

363

Maryland · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

22.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

16.5:1

vs 14.5:1 Maryland avg

+14% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

5.0%

vs 49.0% Maryland avg

-90% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Carderock Springs Elementary compares with Maryland and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Carderock Springs Elementary

Carderock Springs Elementary is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Bethesda, Maryland, enrolling 363 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.5:1 puts it in the larger third of Maryland schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 5.0% free-meal eligibility runs 90% below the Maryland average.

Enrollment of 363 puts it in the smaller third of Maryland schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index outscores 95% of the 1,382 Maryland schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.

Among 62 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Maryland schools statewide, it ranks #4, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by White (56%) and Asian (14%) (diversity index 63/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 363 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Attendance holds up well here: only 0.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

Among Bethesda's elementary schools, it stands alongside Burning Tree Elementary (479 students): Carderock Springs Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (16.5:1 vs 15:1).

Montgomery County Public Schools also operates Montgomery Blair High (3,266 students) and Walter Johnson High (3,016 students) alongside Carderock Springs Elementary.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Carderock Springs Elementary compares

Carderock Springs Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Maryland and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Maryland Maryland avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 16.5:1 ▲ 14% 14.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 5.0% ▼ 90% 49.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 363 top 78% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

16.5:1
Leaner classes than 34% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
363
Bigger than 42% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
5.0%
free-lunch eligible - 90% below the Maryland average of 49.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.5:1
students per teacher - 14% above state mean
Top 76% in Maryland - lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
0.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$18,101
per pupil, district-wide - below Maryland avg of $20,446
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 363 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 56.2%
Asian 14.3%
Two or More 12.4%
Hispanic or Latino 11.8%
African American 5.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%

Largest group: White at 56.2% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 63.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 63.2, Carderock Springs Elementary is more mixed than the Maryland school average of 52.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Montgomery County Public Schools, which includes Carderock Springs Elementary.

$18,101
Per student
-11%
vs Maryland
Avg $20,446
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 66.0%
State 23.7%
Federal 10.3%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Carderock Springs Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Montgomery Blair High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Walter Johnson High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Wheaton High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Gaithersburg High Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Seneca Valley High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Carderock Springs Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Montgomery County Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Bethesda

4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maryland, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Carderock Springs Elementary's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Carderock Springs Elementary

How many students attend Carderock Springs Elementary?

Carderock Springs Elementary has 363 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Bethesda, MD.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Carderock Springs Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Carderock Springs Elementary is 16.5:1, which is 14% higher than the Maryland average of 14.5:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Carderock Springs Elementary?

5.0% of students at Carderock Springs Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maryland average of 49.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Carderock Springs Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Carderock Springs Elementary is White at 56.2% of enrollment, in Bethesda, MD. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 63.2/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Carderock Springs Elementary?

Carderock Springs Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Carderock Springs Elementary rank among elementary schools in Bethesda?

By Resource Investment Index, Carderock Springs Elementary ranks #1 of 5 elementary schools in Bethesda, MD. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Bethesda on the city page.

Is Carderock Springs Elementary a good school?

Carderock Springs Elementary earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 76% of Maryland schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Montgomery County Public Schools?

Besides Carderock Springs Elementary, Montgomery County Public Schools also operates Montgomery Blair High (3,266 students), Walter Johnson High (3,016 students), and Wheaton High (2,794 students). See the Montgomery County Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.