Other / mixed grade configuration · Gaithersburg, MD

Thurgood Marshall Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Thurgood Marshall Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 35/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 240048000404
0/100100/10035/100
👥 S:T ratio
46
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
23
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Thurgood Marshall Elementary earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maryland median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Maryland schools.

#13 of 16
schools in Gaithersburg · Resource Index
35
Resource Index · Typical
13.5:1
students per teacher
45.5%
free-lunch eligible

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

By Resource Investment Index, Thurgood Marshall Elementary ranks #13 of 16 schools in Gaithersburg, MD.

Enrollment

553

Maryland · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

41.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.5:1

vs 14.5:1 Maryland avg

-7% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

45.5%

vs 49.0% Maryland avg

-7% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Thurgood Marshall Elementary compares with Maryland and U.S. medians

At or below 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 Thurgood Marshall Elementary

Thurgood Marshall Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, enrolling 553 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 13.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Maryland schools by student-teacher ratio.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 45.5% lands close to the Maryland typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 553 students, its enrollment sits close to the Maryland median campus size.

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

Among 302 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Maryland schools statewide, it ranks #245, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (31%) and White (31%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 75/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 553 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Gaithersburg's public schools, it stands alongside South Lake Elementary (746 students): Thurgood Marshall Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (13.5:1 vs 11.7:1).

Montgomery County Public Schools also operates Montgomery Blair High (3,266 students) and Walter Johnson High (3,016 students) alongside Thurgood Marshall 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 Thurgood Marshall Elementary compares

Thurgood Marshall 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 13.5:1 ▼ 7% 14.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 45.5% ▼ 7% 49.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 553 top 46% - -

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

13.5:1
Leaner classes than 62% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
553
Bigger than 68% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
45.5%
free-lunch eligible - 7% below the Maryland average of 49.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.5:1
students per teacher - 7% below state mean
Top 36% in Maryland - lower ratio than 64% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
30.6%
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
$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 553 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.2 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

Hispanic or Latino 31.3%
White 31.1%
African American 21.7%
Asian 9.9%
Two or More 5.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 31.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 74.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 74.5, Thurgood Marshall 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 Thurgood Marshall 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 Thurgood Marshall Elementary Compares to District-Mates

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

Comparisons are relative to Thurgood Marshall 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 other schools in Gaithersburg

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 Thurgood Marshall 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 Thurgood Marshall Elementary

How many students attend Thurgood Marshall Elementary?

Thurgood Marshall Elementary has 553 students enrolled. It is a public school in Gaithersburg, MD.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Thurgood Marshall Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Thurgood Marshall Elementary is 13.5:1, which is 7% lower than the Maryland average of 14.5:1 and 14% 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 Thurgood Marshall Elementary?

45.5% of students at Thurgood Marshall Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maryland average of 49.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Thurgood Marshall Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Thurgood Marshall Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 31.3% of enrollment, in Gaithersburg, MD. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 74.5/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Thurgood Marshall Elementary?

Thurgood Marshall Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (typical 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 Thurgood Marshall Elementary rank among schools in Gaithersburg?

By Resource Investment Index, Thurgood Marshall Elementary ranks #13 of 16 schools in Gaithersburg, MD. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Gaithersburg on the city page.

Is Thurgood Marshall Elementary a good school?

Thurgood Marshall Elementary earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maryland median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Thurgood Marshall 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.