Armistead Gardens Elementary/Middle vs Powhatan Elementary

Armistead Gardens Elementary/Middle holds a clear overall edge over Powhatan Elementary, rating 9.0/10 against Powhatan's 8.4/10 — a 0.6-point gap that translates into a meaningful state rank difference. Armistead Gardens sits at #61 of 1,363 schools in Maryland, placing it in the top 5% statewide, while Powhatan Elementary ranks #182 of 1,363 — still a strong showing in the top 14%, but trailing its Baltimore counterpart by 121 positions on the same scale.

Academically, Armistead Gardens Elementary/Middle scores 8.6/10 versus Powhatan Elementary's 8.2/10, a 0.4-point difference that reflects a consistent performance gap across tested subjects. On growth — which measures how much students improve year over year regardless of where they started — both schools perform exceptionally well, with Armistead Gardens at 9.9/10 and Powhatan at 9.6/10. The 0.3-point growth advantage at Armistead Gardens is notable: a near-perfect growth score at that enrollment scale suggests strong instructional consistency across a large and economically diverse student body.

Armistead Gardens enrolls 767 students compared to Powhatan Elementary's 222, making Armistead Gardens more than three times the size. Powhatan's smaller enrollment yields a tighter student-teacher ratio of 11.1:1 versus 12.6:1 at Armistead Gardens — roughly one and a half fewer students per teacher. On free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, Armistead Gardens serves 74% of students qualifying versus 61% at Powhatan, indicating Armistead Gardens draws from a higher-poverty catchment area while still outperforming on both academic and growth metrics.

The most structural difference between these two schools is grade span. Powhatan Elementary serves PK through grade 5, meaning families will face a middle school transition after fifth grade. Armistead Gardens Elementary/Middle runs PK through grade 8, keeping students in one building through the end of middle school — a meaningful continuity advantage for families who want to avoid a school change during early adolescence.