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Harpers Choice Middle School

Columbia, MD 21044

Phone: (410) 313-6929
District: Howard County Public Schools

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GreatSchools Rating

public • Grades 6,7,8 • 472 students

Harpers Choice Middle School, a public school located in Columbia, MD, serves grades 6-8 in the Howard County Public Schools.It has received a GreatSchools Rating of 6 out of 10, based on a variety of school quality measures.

Harpers Choice Middle School is a public school located in Columbia, MD. 472 students attend Harpers Choice Middle School.

School Ratings

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	6/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program data from Maryland State Department of Education, and using 2025 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program End-Of-Course data from Maryland State Department of Education.
Student Growth	6/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Student Growth - Elementary Level data from Maryland State Department of Education, and using 2025 Student Growth - Middle Level data from Maryland State Department of Education.

Posted: October 9, 2025

um I love this school cuz theirs drama and fights.

Posted: October 9, 2025

Posted: September 14, 2025

I have a 7th grader who is extremely excited about going to school every day and he is very happy with his teachers. He highlighted that the school is getting better with the new school Principals and teachers. Looking forward to seeing him putting in greater work to make the 100% honors

Posted: September 14, 2025

Posted: September 10, 2025

My daughter is a sixth grader at Harper's Choice Middle School. She comes home from school happy every day. She loves her teachers and is having a great experience. Harper's Choice is a great example of a school in the Rouse vision of Columbia: kids from all different backgrounds coming together to get a high quality education.

Posted: September 10, 2025

Posted: August 28, 2025

Terrible school, terrible events, horrible building layout, garbage classrooms, and even worse students.

Posted: August 28, 2025

Posted: April 1, 2025

This school is so horrible do not bring your kids here there is people bullying and teachers do not wanna help you at all and it's annoying when I'm trying to get my grades up some teachers don't care GET BETTER TEACHERS THEY CANT DO THEIR JOB RIGHT!!

Posted: December 17, 2024

Hi do not go to this school. the have fights and trash learning they do not know how to do their Job and my son keeps on failing his grades and i called all the teachers to call up to the school while there are not giving my son the help he needs and he keeps coming home feel like he wanna kill himself cause people keep messing with him and that a problem so yeah this school is bad.

Posted: December 17, 2024

Posted: October 11, 2024

Listen to all the reviews. This school is trash from top to bottom. The admin that run this place do not care about your child. Everything they do is to cover their behind and jobs; its a paycheck to them. Some teachers care, some don't. So many kids get pulled out and placed into private schools for these reasons. Howard county loves to parade their "top notch education system" but nothing could be further from the truth. Homeschool and/or private school is absolutely the best place for your child if they are zoned to this school.

Posted: October 11, 2024

Posted: July 22, 2024

This school is horrible. The students are violent, some of them smoke, and the bathrooms are disgusting. They only have 2 good teachers. That is Mr Dennison and Ms DD.

Posted: July 22, 2024

Posted: May 31, 2024

THIS SCHOOL IS SUPER BAD. They are kids running in the halls, they are fighting everyday
some of them, all the kids are bullys and dont know how to get there act together and the 6th graders are horrible calling kids slurs and bullying special ed kids, slurs this school kids are not nice and they are violent the 7th graders are really rude to my child, and the principal yelled at my child and didnt call me first. I googled up that the school the lowest reviews. If you want to send your kids here, DONT.

Posted: May 31, 2024

Posted: August 28, 2023

This school is AWFUL! DO NOT SEND YOUR KIDS HERE! The staff and teachers do not care about the student's education, the kids are always loud and screaming in the hallways during class hours, MANY ARE SKIPPING CLASS HERE! THE KIDS ARE ALSO VERY RUDE TOWARDS OTHER KIDS, such as fighting each other AND EVEN THE STAFF!! If you still decide to send your kids here, EXPECT THEM TO DO AWFUL!

Posted: August 28, 2023

Posted: January 6, 2023

There is a lot of kids doing bad things

Posted: January 6, 2023

Posted: April 19, 2022

This school is atrocious. There are rodents in certain classes, students do drugs, fight, and the administration cannot handle it. The H VAC system in this school makes it so that certain classrooms are 60 degrees, while others have peaked at 95 degrees. The administration has overly-punished kids who are innocent or have had a small situation, while others get in no trouble at all. The only good thing about this school is the teachers, but even then, most of them don't teach well, or discriminate against students. The school itself is in bad condition, and vitally needs upgrades. The last renovation this school has seen was a very minor renovation, back in 2001, over 20 years ago. Students in this school are not prepared for High School, and it shows, with the school being 214th out of 314 middle schools in the state. The student's test scores are the 8th lowest in the state, behind 314 other middle schools. Students fight 2-3 times per day, and drug use/inappropriate behavior is shockingly high.

Posted: April 19, 2022

Posted: June 1, 2021

Our son has been going to Harper's Choice Middle School since 6th grade (he is now an 8th grader) and each year that he has been there I have just been more and more impressed with the staff and the leadership. Many of the staff have been teaching at HCMS for a decade or longer. Their commitment to the school and the students is truly exemplary. During the initial COVID shutdown last year, HCMS teachers were one of the few I saw actually using their limited instruction time to TEACH our students. It was phenomenal and they continue to do so. Our son has excelled in his studies and is well prepared for high school. I know that the teachers and administration at HCMS played a big role in that.

I have been less than satisfied with the school's approach to bullying, but this is an HCPSS problem and not one specific to HCMS. While the school is ALWAYS on top of unproductive behavior, often our son wanted to help/intervene but didn't want to get in trouble with his teachers. I would like to see more peer-to-peer mediation and the school has certainly been open to my ideas. Unfortunately, HCPSS does not yet sanction that type of student peer leadership development, but I think it could help a lot. We need to reinforce the ideas and practice that we are all here to help each other even when things get hard. HCMS is such a diverse and supportive environment. I know the teachers and staff would be able to really provide leadership on this issue if given the freedom to do so.

Posted: June 1, 2021

Posted: June 3, 2020

Horrible! Reminds me of that saying, "school to prison pipeline"

Posted: June 3, 2020

They barely assign HW and it hard knowing what they are learning in class.

Posted: June 3, 2020

To tell you that my sons have been at this school for a year and we have yet to meet the school principal. The administration is horrendous.

Posted: June 3, 2020

Posted: November 8, 2019

We feel blessed to send our daughter to such an excellent school. The school meets the needs of its high-achieving Gifted and Talented students while providing a solid education to students from low income families. I believe scores on standardized tests are relevant, but they are not the final word on how effective a school is. At Harpers Choice, kids from affluent households do as well as would at any school in Howard County, while the kids from families with modest means probably do better than they would in school made up entirely of low income students. Test scores tend reflect the demographics of the school, not the quality of the teaching.

Posted: November 8, 2019

The schools approach to homework seems to be comparable to other Howard County middle schools. The teachers are given guidelines which largely determine the quantity and difficulty of homework.

Posted: November 8, 2019

The teachers have really impressed my wife and I. In particular, we are impressed with how dedicated they are to teaching students who vary widely in aptitude and in their devotion to learning. Most of the teachers seem highly motivated and enjoy mentoring and teaching a very diverse student body. Our daughter really likes her teachers at Harpers Choice.

Posted: November 8, 2019

I think that the teachers and administrators do try to develop the character of their students, but of course the home environment is the most influential factor. Still, I do believe the school has a generally positive effect in developing students with compassion, integrity, etc. It would be helpful to all concerned if a few of the students received better instructions on respect at home, but I think the school does an admirable job.

Posted: November 8, 2019

It must be difficult serving as principal of school where a significant number of students live in million dollar houses and a significant number of students receive free and reduced-price meals. Plus, every demographic group in between is also well-represented. Yet, the principal seems dedicated to meeting the needs of every type of student (and parent). My daughter often speaks highly of the principal and assistant principals.

Posted: November 8, 2019

My daughter is a rather sensitive child, yet she has had few complaints about her classmates. That would be impressive for any middle school, but it is even more so at a school like Harpers Choice. Some of the students have behavioral issues, and I feel for the teachers, but it doesnt seem to affect my daughter adversely. She doesnt complain about bullying and she is never reluctant to go to school.

Posted: August 26, 2017

Great environment great teachers A+ school. Love that HC does such a great job with their students

Posted: August 26, 2017

Posted: October 21, 2014

This school is truly amazing , there are some really good teachers like ms.Smith, ms.dymek,mr.sylor and more. They are all really supportive.P.S. I go to this school

Posted: October 7, 2014

HCMS is a great school. All three of my children have attended this school and have received a great education. The atmosphere is welcoming and engaging.

Reviews provided by GreatSchools^™

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Maple Lawn	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Fulton	MD	4.9 mi
2	The Greens at Locust Chapel	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Ellicott City	MD	6.4 mi
3	Landing	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Elkridge	MD	7.5 mi
4	Norwood	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Olney	MD	10.1 mi
5	Midway Common	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Fort Meade	MD	10.1 mi
6	The Provinces	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Severn	MD	10.6 mi
7	Lake Village Town Homes	Apartment Complex	Severn	MD	11.3 mi
8	Iverly	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Silver Spring	MD	12.2 mi
9	DuMont Oaks	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Silver Spring	MD	14.1 mi
10	Hillandale	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Silver Spring	MD	14.4 mi
11	Harvest Run	Condominium/Townhouse	Odenton	MD	14.7 mi
12	Shelter Cove Luxury Apartments	Apartment Complex	Odenton	MD	14.7 mi
13	Forest Knolls	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Silver Spring	MD	15.1 mi
14	Piney Orchard at Pinedale Courts	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Odenton	MD	15.3 mi
15	White Flint	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Rockville	MD	17.4 mi
16	Takoma Park	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Takoma Park	MD	17.7 mi
17	Old Farm	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Rockville	MD	18 mi
18	Crofton	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Crofton	MD	18.7 mi
19	Carrollton Manor	Area of Town	Severna Park	MD	19.3 mi

#	Name	City	State	Distance
1	Hammond Hills	Laurel	MD	5.5 mi
2	Laurel	Laurel	MD	8.7 mi
3	Severn	Severn	MD	13.4 mi
4	White Oak	Silver Spring	MD	14.4 mi
5	Baltimore	Baltimore	MD	15.1 mi
6	Silver Spring	Silver Spring	MD	17.7 mi

Base	Distance
Fort Meade NSA	12.2 mi.
Coast Guard Curtis Bay	17.1 mi.
Walter Reed Medical Center	18.9 mi.
Marine Barracks Washington	24.5 mi.
Washington Navy Yard	24.8 mi.
Fort McNair	25.4 mi.
Coast Guard Headquarters DC	25.7 mi.
Fort Myer	25.8 mi.
Pentagon	26 mi.
Henderson Hall	26.5 mi.
US Naval Academy	27.3 mi.
Bolling AFB Joint Base Anacostia	27.4 mi.
Annapolis Naval Station	27.6 mi.
Andrews AFB	28.9 mi.
Mark Center Alexandria	29.8 mi.
Defense Health Headquarters Falls Church	30.1 mi.
Fort Detrick	32.5 mi.
Fort Belvoir	38.1 mi.
NRO Chantilly	38.3 mi.
Aberdeen Proving Ground	43.9 mi.
Indian Head Naval Base	46.5 mi.

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Harpers Choice Middle School

Columbia, MD 21044

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