Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) students achieved their ninth consecutive year of gains in English Language Arts (literacy), totaling nearly 16 percentage points during CEO Santelises’ tenure, on the Maryland state assessments. For the last three years, City Schools has also earned three consecutive years of increases in math scores, equaling the statewide increases.
Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program tests for the 2024-25 school year were released today by the Maryland State Department of Education.
City Schools’ literacy gains outpaced the state for the entire nine-year tenure of CEO Dr. Sonja Brookins Santelises (since 2016-17), increasing 15.9 percentage points vs. statewide growth of 9 percentage points. This has narrowed the gap with the state.
City Schools’ literacy proficiency jumped 8.8 percentage points since 2022, outperforming the state’s gain of 5.5 percentage points.
City Schools has increased literacy scores in all grades since 2024.
City Schools’ one-year gain was 3.5 percentage points, exceeding the state’s gain of 2.4 percentage points.
Notably, tenth graders led the way in one-year literacy gains, with an 8.1 percentage point increase.
City Schools improved math proficiency in every grade for the third year.
City Schools and the state have posted similar math gains since 2022. City Schools increased 5.6 percentage points in math since 2022, while the state increased 5.5 percentage points.
City Schools’ one-year gain of 2.4 percentage points was the same as the state’s increase.
City Schools’ strategic investments in literacy and math continue to fuel student growth, according to Dr. Santelises.
“This level of sustained literacy and math progress is the result not only of our dedicated school leaders and staff, but also the diligence of our students,” said Dr. Santelises. “As proud as I am of our trajectory, there is much more to do. We will continue refining our strategies to prepare every student for success.”
Making gains by transforming our teaching and learning
City Schools is transforming the culture of teaching and learning in two key ways:
First, we’re providing teachers with strong support through expert guidance, ongoing training, and teamwork focused on helping every student improve.
Second, we provide high-quality materials that build strong literacy and math skills starting in the earliest grades.
Together, these efforts help teachers better understand each student’s needs and plan the right next steps for success.
Literacy increases since 2024:
Multiple student groups showed gains in literacy, including African American students (3.9 percentage points), Economically Disadvantaged Students (3.6 percentage points), and Hispanic students (2.4 percentage points).
Hispanic students, the district’s fastest-growing student group, showed greater gains in literacy than the state. 2.4 percentage points for City Schools students versus 1.9 percentage points for Maryland overall.
Math increases since 2024
City Schools' largest one-year math gains were in grades 3 and 4 with increases of 3.7 and 3.9 percentage points, respectively. Algebra I increased by 3.6 percentage points.
Multiple student groups showed gains in math, including Hispanic students (2.6 percentage points), Economically Disadvantaged Students (2.3 percentage points), and African American students (2.1 percentage points).
Hispanic students outpaced the state in math gains, 2.6 percentage points for City Schools students versus 1.9 percentage points for Maryland overall.