Best Schools in Laurel, Maryland

Laurel, Maryland has 20 ranked public schools with a citywide average of 6.8 out of 10. The distribution is almost evenly split: exactly half of the ranked schools — 10 of the 20 — score 7 or higher, giving parents a real pool of above-average options to work from. The other 10 fall below that threshold, which means default assignment by address can land a child on either side of the divide.

Gorman Crossing Elementary leads all Laurel schools with a 9.2 — the city's strongest score and a significant jump above the average. Maryland City Elementary follows at 8.5, and Chesapeake Math and IT Public Charter ranks third at 8.4. Monarch Global Academy PCS Laurel Campus comes in at 8.3, and Hammond Elementary rounds out the top five at 7.9. Two of those five — CMIT and Monarch Global — are public charter schools. Charters run separate enrollment processes and lottery systems outside standard district assignment, so families interested in either need to track deadlines independently.

The elementary tier is where Laurel's rankings peak. Four of the five top-scoring schools serve elementary grades, giving families with younger children the strongest concentration of high-rated options. Charters account for two of those top five spots, which means choice-minded families at the elementary level have more paths to pursue than a neighborhood-assignment-only approach would suggest.

The most actionable comparison in Laurel is the 2.4-point gap between the top school (9.2) and the city average (6.8). That gap is wide enough that where a child attends by default makes a material difference. The 7-plus filter — which screens for 10 of the 20 ranked schools — is a practical starting point for any shortlist. Parents should confirm current attendance-zone boundaries and identify charter lottery deadlines early: both variables determine which schools are actually within reach before a single application goes in.