Ballenger Creek Middle

Summary:

Ballenger Creek Middle is a public middle school located in Frederick, Maryland, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 805 students. The school is part of the Frederick County Public Schools district, which is ranked 6th out of 25 districts in Maryland and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Ballenger Creek Middle has a more diverse student population compared to nearby schools, with a higher percentage of African American, Hispanic, and Asian students. However, the school's academic performance, as measured by MCAP test scores, is generally lower than the district and state averages, particularly in mathematics. The school's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups, with African American and low socioeconomic status students performing better than Asian, White, and special education students. Despite the relatively high per-student spending of $13,350, Ballenger Creek Middle's academic outcomes are not commensurate with the level of investment.

Ballenger Creek Middle's statewide ranking has declined over the years, from a high of 49th out of 315 Maryland middle schools in 2014-2015 to 109th out of 328 in 2023-2024. This suggests that the school's performance may be declining relative to other middle schools in the state. Compared to nearby schools like Windsor Knolls Middle, Oakdale Middle, and Urbana Middle, which have higher MCAP test scores and statewide rankings, Ballenger Creek Middle's performance is generally lower, suggesting the need for targeted interventions and learning from the practices of these higher-performing schools.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 5525 Ballenger Creek Pike
       Frederick, MD  21703-7015


(240) 236-5700

District: Frederick County Public Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
109th of 328 Maryland Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $15,285 Help


Students who attend Ballenger Creek Middle usually attend:

High:    Tuscarora High

Feeder schools for Ballenger Creek Middle:

Elementary:    Ballenger Creek Elementary
    Carroll Manor Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  16.5 Help
Number of students:  792

Racial breakdown:

White:
37.6%
Hispanic:
26.0%
African American:
19.6%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  35% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Ballenger Creek Middle ranks better than 66.8% of middle schools in Maryland. It also ranks 8th among 13 ranked middle schools in the Frederick County Public Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 56.81. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Ballenger Creek Middle is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (37.6%), Hispanic (26%), African American (19.6%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 35% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Ballenger Creek Middle is 16.5. 9 middle schools in the Frederick County Public Schools District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
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Compare Ballenger Creek Middle employs 48 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Ballenger Creek Middle is $15,285, which is the 6th highest among 13 middle schools in the Frederick County Public Schools District.
Schooldigger Rankings:

Ballenger Creek Middle was not ranked this year due to insufficient test score data.
SchoolDigger ranks Ballenger Creek Middle 109th of 328 Maryland public middle schools. (See Ballenger Creek Middle in the ranking list.)

Frederick County Public Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Frederick County Public Schools 6th of 25 Maryland school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Ballenger Creek Middle

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 37.87 166th 252 34.1%
2005 17.36 214th 255 16.1%
2006 23.50 198th 254 22.0%
2007 27.23 193rd 264 26.9%
2008 80.03 53rd 283 81.3%
2009 74.45 81st 301 73.1%
2010 80.05 60th 324 81.5%
2011 69.71 99th 309 68.0%
2012 81.14 57th 314 81.8%
2013 71.73 93rd 316 70.6%
2014 76.04 88th 339 74.0%
2015 79.93 49th 315 84.4%
2016 76.28 65th 314 79.3%
2017 66.87 97th 317 69.4%
2018 67.27 95th 328 71.0%
2019 63.82 102nd 316 67.7%
2021 52.49 123rd 303 59.4%
2022 62.83 115th 333 65.5%
2023 45.32 146th 322 54.7%
2024 56.81 109th 328 66.8%
See the entire list of Maryland Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 29.53 96th 136 29.4%
See the entire list of Best Maryland Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 30.50 99th 120 17.5%
See the entire list of Best Maryland Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 63.68 62nd 273 77.3%
See the entire list of Best Maryland Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 53.11 125th 303 58.7%
See the entire list of Best Maryland Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 53.94 119th 288 58.7%
See the entire list of Best Maryland Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 46.25 67th 116 42.2%
See the entire list of Best Maryland Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 70.53 50th 259 80.7%
See the entire list of Best Maryland Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 57.91 68th 207 67.1%
See the entire list of Best Maryland Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Ballenger Creek Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MD State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 39.08 128th 210 39.0%
See the entire list of Best Maryland Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Maryland State Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Ballenger Creek Middle Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
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Data source: Maryland State Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 4)
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100%

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Reviews:
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Enrollment information for Ballenger Creek Middle

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1991 500 57 12 6 1 n/a n/a 0 576
1992 667 66 14 3 2 n/a n/a 0 752
1993 823 87 9 11 4 n/a n/a 0 934
1994 684 93 12 19 4 n/a n/a 0 812
1995 780 106 26 20 1 n/a n/a 0 933
1996 780 106 26 20 1 n/a n/a 0 933
1997 833 111 31 19 3 n/a n/a 0 997
1998 847 128 48 20 1 n/a n/a 0 1044
1999 862 150 35 32 0 n/a n/a 0 1079
2000 893 161 34 42 1 n/a n/a 0 1131
2001 813 108 42 30 1 n/a n/a 0 994
2002 864 158 57 43 6 n/a n/a 0 1128
2003 864 158 57 43 6 n/a n/a 0 1128
2004 856 197 51 50 4 n/a n/a 0 1158
2005 573 100 31 37 4 n/a n/a 0 745
2006 519 101 32 46 4 n/a n/a 0 702
2007 548 113 39 58 4 n/a n/a 0 762
2008 531 110 43 69 1 n/a n/a 0 754
2009 502 117 47 66 2 n/a n/a 0 734
2010 477 97 47 68 0 n/a n/a 0 689
2011 423 100 37 82 2 1 51 0 696
2012 435 103 41 83 1 0 44 0 707
2013 438 93 45 84 1 0 42 0 703
2014 436 94 49 76 4 0 47 0 706
2015 415 105 51 86 4 0 52 0 713
2016 395 122 51 92 3 1 48 0 712
2017 420 118 62 129 1 2 44 0 776
2018 409 136 57 134 4 2 35 0 777
2019 397 173 63 156 1 5 45 0 840
2020 362 172 60 168 4 4 47 0 817
2021 338 161 51 180 5 3 62 0 800
2022 322 168 54 184 5 1 56 0 790
2023 311 165 67 202 3 3 54 0 805
2024 298 155 73 206 1 3 56 0 792

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Ballenger Creek Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1991 576 34.7 16.5 6.1
1992 752 42.3 17.7 6.6
1993 934 56.7 16.5 5.4
1994 812 53.7 15.1 9.2
1995 933 56.7 16.5 12.6
1996 933 56.7 16.5 12.6
1997 997 59.8 16.7 11
1998 1044 63.8 16.4 12
1999 1079 63.8 16.9 19
2000 1131 67.8 16.7 13.4
2001 994 62.5 15.9 9.2
2002 1128 63.0 17.9 9.8
2003 1128 63.0 17.9 9.8
2004 1158 65.5 17.7 12.2
2005 745 47.0 15.9 10.1
2006 702 48.0 14.6 10.7
2007 762 44.8 17.0 13.8
2008 754 49.0 15.4 13.3
2009 734 51.5 14.3 13.9
2010 689 44.5 15.4 16
2011 696 45.5 15.2 18.4
2012 707 51.5 13.7 18.4
2013 703 45.5 15.4 20.3
2014 706 45.0 15.6 20.1
2015 713 44.0 16.2 22.7
2016 712 46.0 15.4 23.6
2017 776 43.0 18.0 22.8
2018 777 48.0 16.1 23.8
2019 840 49.5 16.9 25.1
2020 817 51.0 16.0 27.1
2021 800 53.9 14.8 29.1
2022 790 53.5 14.7 28.4
2023 805 49.5 16.2 35.7
2024 792 48.0 16.5 35

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Ballenger Creek Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1991 576 34.7 16.5 6.1
1992 752 42.3 17.7 6.6
1993 934 56.7 16.5 5.4
1994 812 53.7 15.1 9.2
1995 933 56.7 16.5 12.6
1996 933 56.7 16.5 12.6
1997 997 59.8 16.7 11
1998 1044 63.8 16.4 12
1999 1079 63.8 16.9 19
2000 1131 67.8 16.7 13.4
2001 994 62.5 15.9 9.2
2002 1128 63.0 17.9 9.8
2003 1128 63.0 17.9 9.8
2004 1158 65.5 17.7 12.2
2005 745 47.0 15.9 10.1
2006 702 48.0 14.6 10.7
2007 762 44.8 17.0 13.8
2008 754 49.0 15.4 13.3
2009 734 51.5 14.3 13.9
2010 689 44.5 15.4 16
2011 696 45.5 15.2 18.4
2012 707 51.5 13.7 18.4
2013 703 45.5 15.4 20.3
2014 706 45.0 15.6 20.1
2015 713 44.0 16.2 22.7
2016 712 46.0 15.4 23.6
2017 776 43.0 18.0 22.8
2018 777 48.0 16.1 23.8
2019 840 49.5 16.9 25.1
2020 817 51.0 16.0 27.1
2021 800 53.9 14.8 29.1
2022 790 53.5 14.7 28.4
2023 805 49.5 16.2 35.7
2024 792 48.0 16.5 35

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Ballenger Creek Middle

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $524 (4.5%) $11,221 (95.5%) $11,745
2020 $569 (4.7%) $11,564 (95.3%) $12,132
2021 $1,018 (7.6%) $12,332 (92.4%) $13,350
2022 $1,900 (12.8%) $12,969 (87.2%) $14,870
2023 $1,258 (8.2%) $14,027 (91.8%) $15,285

Data source: Maryland Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Ballenger Creek Middle

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 102nd of 316 Middle schoolsRanks 146th of 322 Middle schools
 13.1%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students840805
 4.2%
African American173165
 4.6%
American Indian13
 200%
Asian6367
 6.3%
Hispanic156202
 29.5%
Pacific Islander53
 40%
White397311
 21.7%
Two or More Races4554
 20%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients25.1%35.7%
 10.5%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Ballenger Creek Middle

In the 2023-24 school year, 792 students attended Ballenger Creek Middle.

Students who attend Ballenger Creek Middle usually go on to attend Tuscarora High

Ballenger Creek Middle ranks 109th of 328 Maryland middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students at Ballenger Creek Middle are 38% White, 26% Hispanic, 20% African American, 9% Asian, 7% Two or more races.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maryland State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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