Annual School Test assesses school-capacity adequacy and informs Utilization Premium Payments for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026
WHEATON, MD – At its meeting on June 25, the Montgomery County Planning Board, under the authority of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), approved the results of the fiscal year 2027 Annual School Test and acknowledged the countywide portion of the related School Utilization Report. This action aligns with the 2024-2028 Growth and Infrastructure Policy (GIP). The Annual School Test plays a critical role in assessing the adequacy of K-12 public school facilities across the county, flagging areas where schools are anticipated to be overutilized and categorizing these areas into tiers for Utilization Premium Payments throughout the fiscal year.
Interested parties can view the June 25 Planning Board staff report
Access the FY2027 Annual School Test results
Examine the FY2027 Countywide School Utilization Report
Certification of the FY2027 Annual School Test
As part of the GIP, the Annual School Test assesses projected student utilization for each Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) facility, projecting into the future to the 2030-31 school year for the FY2027 evaluation. Schools predicted to exceed specific utilization thresholds will have their service areas categorized into Utilization Premium Payment (UPP) tiers. When a development application proposes new residential units in a service area designated with a UPP tier, a UPP is automatically applied as a condition of development approval to alleviate potential overutilization. This condition also involves an increased surcharge on the project’s school impact tax rate. It is important to note that a school impact tax is assessed on residential developments regardless of current school utilization, representing their proportional share of costs associated with constructing new schools. UPPs are additional fees required alongside the school impact tax, dependent on the tier placement, which includes three categories: Tier 1 for moderate overutilization, Tier 2 for intermediate, and Tier 3 for the most severe conditions, with distinct payment levels. While the surcharge rate is established upon project approval, the payment amount is finalized when a building permit is issued, influenced by the school impact tax rate at that time. View the current UPP rates.
Beyond UPP Tier classifications, the Annual School Test calculates the adequacy ceiling for future tiers in each school service area. If a development is likely to produce more students than the adequacy ceiling for any particular school, the corresponding payment factor will increase based on the expected number of additional students.
The FY2027 Annual School Test results were compiled by personnel from the Montgomery County Planning Department, also part of The M-NCPPC, and these findings will be enacted starting July 1, 2026, following the guidelines outlined in the Annual School Test Guidelines v 2.0, which were approved by the Planning Board on December 19, 2024. The outcomes will particularly apply to newly authorized middle and high school service areas, which were approved by the Board of Education on March 26, 2026.
Summary of the FY2027 Annual School Test
Tier 1 UPP placements include:
- James Hubert Blake HS
- Winston Churchill HS
- Francis Scott Key MS
- Cashell ES
Tier 2 UPP placements include:
- Burning Tree ES
- Cabin Branch ES
Tier 3 UPP placements include:
FY2027 School Utilization Report
In line with the GIP, Montgomery Planning is tasked with crafting a School Utilization Report that accompanies the Annual School Test. This report generally contains both a countywide overview and detailed reports for individual schools, ultimately offering supplementary information about MCPS facilities. Recent estimates from MCPS suggest there will be a surplus of more than 4,900 seats available at the high school level (equivalent to 9% of the county’s high school capacity), over 7,100 surplus seats at the middle school level (18% of total capacity), and more than 13,300 surplus seats at the elementary school level (17% of total capacity) by the end of the six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) cycle by the 2031-2032 school year. The report also includes a snapshot of 2025 housing data encompassing single-family home sales, ongoing housing developments, and the total number of residential units categorized by school service area. Due to the recent boundary change decisions approved by the Board of Education, which have significantly delayed MCPS’s projections, the individual school reports will be made available later on Montgomery Planning’s Annual School Test and School Utilization Report webpage.
About the Growth and Infrastructure Policy
The GIP addresses the essential adequacy of public facilities as it pertains to development review processes. It establishes standards for evaluating development proposals, ensuring that the necessary public infrastructure, including transportation systems and school facilities, can adequately accommodate the demands posed by new developments. Furthermore, it specifies requirements to rectify any deficiencies in infrastructure. The County Council officially adopted the 2024-2028 Growth and Infrastructure Policy through a resolution on November 12, 2024.
