Other / mixed grade configuration · Ellicott City, MD

Centennial Lane Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Centennial Lane Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 240042000723
0/100100/10049/100
👥 S:T ratio
39
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
86
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Centennial Lane Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maryland median.

#3 of 7
schools in Ellicott City · Resource Index
49
Resource Index · Higher
15.3:1
students per teacher
12.3%
free-lunch eligible

Centennial Lane Elementary has class sizes near the Maryland median. Computed live against every Maryland school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Centennial Lane Elementary ranks #3 of 7 schools in Ellicott City, MD.

Enrollment

749

Maryland · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

49.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.3:1

vs 14.5:1 Maryland avg

+6% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

12.3%

vs 49.0% Maryland avg

-75% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Centennial Lane 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 Centennial Lane Elementary

Centennial Lane Elementary is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Ellicott City, Maryland, enrolling 749 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15.3:1 puts it in the larger third of Maryland schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 12.3% free-meal eligibility runs 75% below the Maryland average.

Enrollment of 749 puts it in the larger third of Maryland schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,382 scored Maryland schools.

Against 168 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #48.

Its student body is led by Asian (44%) and White (32%) (diversity index 69/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 749 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance holds up well here: only 5.5% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

Among Ellicott City's public schools, it stands alongside Veterans Elementary (883 students): Centennial Lane Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (15.3:1 vs 13.2:1).

Howard County Public Schools also operates Marriotts Ridge High (1,741 students) and Reservoir High (1,597 students) alongside Centennial Lane 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 Centennial Lane Elementary compares

Centennial Lane 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 15.3:1 ▲ 6% 14.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 12.3% ▼ 75% 49.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 749 top 25% - -

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

15.3:1
Leaner classes than 44% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
749
Bigger than 83% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
12.3%
free-lunch eligible - 75% 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
15.3:1
students per teacher - 6% above state mean
Top 61% in Maryland - lower ratio than 39% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
5.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$17,971
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 749 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

Asian 44.1%
White 31.8%
African American 8.7%
Two or More 8.4%
Hispanic or Latino 6.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: Asian at 44.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 68.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 68.6, Centennial Lane Elementary is more mixed than the Maryland school average of 52.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Howard County Public Schools, which includes Centennial Lane Elementary.

$17,971
Per student
-12%
vs Maryland
Avg $20,446
+8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 62.7%
State 29.5%
Federal 7.7%

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 Centennial Lane Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Marriotts Ridge High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Reservoir High Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Atholton High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Howard High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Mount Hebron High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Howard County Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Ellicott City

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other 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 Centennial Lane 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 Centennial Lane Elementary

How many students attend Centennial Lane Elementary?

Centennial Lane Elementary has 749 students enrolled. It is a public school in Ellicott City, MD.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Centennial Lane Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Centennial Lane Elementary is 15.3:1, which is 6% higher than the Maryland average of 14.5:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Centennial Lane Elementary?

12.3% of students at Centennial Lane Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maryland average of 49.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Centennial Lane Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Centennial Lane Elementary is Asian at 44.1% of enrollment, in Ellicott City, MD. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 68.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Centennial Lane Elementary?

Centennial Lane Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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 Centennial Lane Elementary rank among schools in Ellicott City?

By Resource Investment Index, Centennial Lane Elementary ranks #3 of 7 schools in Ellicott City, MD. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Ellicott City on the city page.

Is Centennial Lane Elementary a good school?

Centennial Lane Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maryland median. 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 Howard County Public Schools?

Besides Centennial Lane Elementary, Howard County Public Schools also operates Marriotts Ridge High (1,741 students), Reservoir High (1,597 students), and Atholton High (1,540 students). See the Howard 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.