Enrollment
1,159
Maryland · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Columbia, MD
Hammond High
Federal NCES profile for Hammond High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 240042000735
👥 S:T ratio 50
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Hammond High earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Maryland schools.
- #3 of 5
- high schools in Columbia · Resource Index
- 55
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.5:1
- small classes for Maryland
- 38.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Hammond High has class sizes smaller than 76% of Maryland schools. Computed live against every Maryland school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Hammond High ranks #3 of 5 high schools in Columbia, MD.
School address
District: Howard County Public Schools · Maryland
NCES ID 240042000735 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
93.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 14.5:1 Maryland avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
38.1%
vs 49.0% Maryland avg
-22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Hammond High compares with Maryland and U.S. medians
What stands out at Hammond High
Hammond High is a large high school in Columbia, Maryland, enrolling 1,159 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Maryland schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 38.1% of students eligible for free meals.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Maryland, bigger than 90% of state schools at 1,159 students.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,382 scored Maryland schools.
Against 129 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #58.
Its student body is led by African American (44%) and White (21%) (diversity index 72/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 27 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 232 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 43.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Columbia's high schools, it stands alongside Atholton High (1,540 students): Hammond High is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.5:1 vs 16.4:1).
Howard County Public Schools also operates Marriotts Ridge High (1,741 students) and Reservoir High (1,597 students) alongside Hammond High.
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 Hammond High compares
Hammond High on the metrics families compare, against Maryland and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maryland | Maryland avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.5:1 | ▼ 14% | 14.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 38.1% | ▼ 22% | 49.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,159 | top 10% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
1,159
Bigger than 93% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
38.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 22% below the Maryland average of 49.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
- 14% below state mean
Top 24% in Maryland - lower ratio than 76% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
43.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
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
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 232 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 60 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.4 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
African American 44.4%
White 20.7%
Hispanic or Latino 16.6%
Asian 11.1%
Two or More 7.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 44.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 71.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 71.5, Hammond High is more mixed than the Maryland school average of 52.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 27
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Howard County Public Schools, which includes Hammond High.
$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 Hammond High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriotts Ridge High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Reservoir High | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Atholton High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Howard High | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mount Hebron High | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Hammond High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,741
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 1,597
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 1,540
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 1,493
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 1,455
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
Similar high schools in Columbia
4 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Atholton High
Standard public school
1,540 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
Oakland Mills High
Standard public school
1,413 students 13.9:1 students per teacher
Long Reach High
Standard public school
1,334 students 10.7:1 students per teacher
Wilde Lake High
Standard public school
1,197 students 12.2:1 students per teacher
Similar high 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.
Similar enrollment (~1,159 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Hammond High's federal record.
- Compare Hammond High against another school. Compare schools
- Howard County Public Schools's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Hammond High
How many students attend Hammond High?
Hammond High has 1,159 students enrolled. It is a high school in Columbia, MD.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hammond High?
The student-teacher ratio at Hammond High is 12.5:1, which is 14% lower than the Maryland average of 14.5:1 and 20% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hammond High?
38.1% of students at Hammond High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maryland average of 49.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hammond High?
The largest demographic group at Hammond High is African American at 44.4% of enrollment, in Columbia, MD. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 71.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hammond High?
Hammond High has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Hammond High rank among high schools in Columbia?
By Resource Investment Index, Hammond High ranks #3 of 5 high schools in Columbia, MD. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Columbia on the city page.
Is Hammond High a good school?
Hammond High earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller 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 Howard County Public Schools?
Besides Hammond High, 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.
Related tools
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.