Data

The more prepared children are for kindergarten, the more successful learners they will become.  As part of the broader Ready for Kindergarten (RK4) program in Maryland, the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) is administered to all kindergarten students in the first semester of a school year.

The KRA looks at the knowledge, skills and behaviors necessary to be successful in kindergarten. It also provides useful data for comparisons and analysis of prior care settings such as Pre-K, Head Start, home care, non-public nursery school, and others.

Districtwide results for 2023

• Kindergarten readiness improved 8 percent between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school year. Nearly every student group experienced an increase.
• When controlling for student demographics, students that attended City Schools programs were more likely to be ready for kindergarten compared to those at other prior care settings.
  • Our 8-percent rate of improvement in kindergarten readiness quadrupled the state’s increase of just 2 percent. We are outperforming our state.
  • African-American student performance improvement was significant, with an 8 percentage point increase. Economically-disadvantaged students earned a 10-point increase.
  • The other subgroups experienced between improvements between 3 and 6 percent.
  • While this indicates recovery, the overall readiness score both in Baltimore City is still four points below the 2019-2020 rate. There is a similar trend state-wide.
  • Our pre-K enrollment has remained steady – we gained exactly one net student since 2020-21 school year.

Districtwide results for 2022 

• City Schools’ kindergarten readiness rate rose by +8 percentage points over the previous year to 33% whereas Maryland increased by 2 percentage points to 42%
  • City Schools showed one of the largest increases in readiness over the past year in the state, even though the overall readiness level is among the lowest and remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Reference

• December 6, 2022 Maryland State Board of Education Presentation
• December 13, 2022 - Staff presentation to Board of School Commissioners 
• Maryland Report Card Website [ Data Download for 2023 MCAP Kindergarten Readiness Assessment]

Districtwide results for 2021 

• The fall 2021 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) is the first measurement since the COVID pandemic. City Schools’ kindergarten readiness decreased from 37 percent in 2019 to 25 percent in 2021. In Maryland, the rate fell from 47 percent to 40 percent.

Districtwide results for 2019-20 

• City Schools’ kindergarten readiness rate fell by 2 points over the previous year to 37%. The decrease in kindergarten readiness was particularly large among Hispanic/Latino students and English Learner students. 
• Although readiness rates decreased across prior care settings other than non-public nurseries, students at City Schools Pre-Ks and those with Judy Centers were the most likely to be ready for kindergarten when controlling for student characteristics.  

Districtwide results for 2018-19 

• City Schools’ kindergarten readiness rate fell by 2 points over the previous year to 39%, partly due to a change in scoring methodology.
• Readiness gaps exist by race/ethnicity, economic disadvantage, English learner, and disability status.
• Students who attended City Schools pre-kindergarten programs with Judy Centers demonstrated higher rates of readiness than students across public Pre-K programs in the state. 

2021-22 MCAP

As a result of ongoing investments in English Language Arts (ELA), Baltimore City Public Schools has seen increases on the 2022 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) from pre-pandemic outcomes.  

Meanwhile, like the rest of the state, the district’s math scores dipped from pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the district’s rates of change in both categories from 2019 were better than the state, resulting in gap closures in 7 of 14 tested grades and subjects. 

Read our summary here

Links for 2021-22

• ELA/Math Data Results
• Presentation to the Board of School Commissioners

After the 2018-19 school year, Maryland transitioned from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) standardized assessment to the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) to measure student achievement in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. With the intention to begin implementation during the 2019-20 school year, the administration of MCAP was put on hold in response to the coronavirus pandemic, therefore, there are no MCAP assessment results available for the 2019-20 or 2020-21 school years.

• PARCC Results: 2017-18 and 2018-19 - Historic results can be found on the Maryland School Report Card

A graduation cohort is a group of students who enter the ninth grade for the first time together with the expectation of graduating within four years. A 4-year (or "on-time") graduation rate is the percentage of students in a cohort who earn a diploma within four years of entering the ninth grade. Five-year graduation and drop-out rates reflect earning a diploma or withdrawing from school within five years of entering ninth grade. Graduation and drop-out rates are calculated by the Maryland State Department of Education annually.

• Classes of 2020 and 2021
  • This is data represents student outcomes during the first full school year of the COVID-19 pandemic.Students experienced mass disruptions to their traditional teaching and learning environment during this period. Challenges include virtual learning, periodic individual and classroom quarantines, and lack of in-person access to support programs and activities.
  • The 4-year graduation and drop-out rates are provided for the Class of 2021 cohort, which includes students who entered ninth grade for the first time in SY 2017-18. The 5-year graduation and drop-out rates are provided for the Class of 2020 (first-entered ninth grade in SY 2016-17).
  • The Class of 2021 had a four-year graduation rate of 69.2 percent. The figure is less than one percentage point less than the 70 percent recorded for the prior cohort. The new figure also aligns with the 70.3 percent recorded by the Class of 2019.
  • The Class of 2021 has a four-year dropout rate of 12.5 percent. The dropout rate decreased for the third consecutive year:
    • 15.9 in 2019
    • 13.1 in 2020
    • 12.5 in 2021 
  • The Class of 2020 had a five-year graduation rate of 72.4 percent, more than one percentage point lower than the prior cohort’s five-year rate of 73.9 percent.

• Classes of 2019 and 2020
  • The 4-year graduation and drop-out rates are provided for the Class of 2020 cohort, which includes students who entered ninth grade for the first time in SY 2016-17. The 5-year graduation and drop-out rates are provided for the Class of 2019 (first-entered ninth grade in SY2015-16).
  • The Class of 2020 had a four-year graduation rate of 70.0%, which represents a small decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the Class of 2019. Four-year graduation rates increased over the past several years from 69.7% in 2014 to a high of 72.2% in 2018, and then decreased slightly to 70.3% in 2019 and ultimately 70.0% in 2020.
  • The dropout rate for Class of 2020 has also decreased 2.8 percentage points from last year, down from a rate of 15.9% in 2019 to 13.1% in 2020. The dropout rate was lower in 2020 than in previous years, with the exception of 2014.
  • The Class of 2019 five-year graduation rate of 74% is 1 point lower than the prior cohort’s five-year rate of 75%.

• Classes of 2018 and 2019
  • The 4-year graduation and drop-out rates are provided for the Class of 2019 cohort, which includes students who entered ninth grade for the first time in SY 2015-16. The 5-year graduation and drop-out rates are provided for the Class of 2018 (first-entered ninth grade in SY2014-15).
  • The Class of 2019 had a four-year graduation rate of 70.3%, which represents a decrease of 1.9 percentage points from the Class of 2018. Changes in graduation assessment requirements may have contributed to these decreases. The five-year graduation rates for the Class of 2018 increased slightly by .02 percentage points to 75%.
  • The dropout rate increased slightly by .9 percentage points to 15.9% in 2019 from 15% in 2018.

Maryland State Department of Education results for the Spring Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA) results for grades 5 and 8 were released at the August 23, 2022 State Board meeting. Their report indicated that in City Schools:

• In City Schools, 9% of 5th graders and 12% of 8th graders met or exceeded expectations on the 2021-22 MISA administration (state proficiency; grade 5: 30.6%, grade 8: 35.4%), compared to 7% of 5th graders and 11% of 8th graders in school year 2018-19
• Gaps between City Schools and Maryland performance on MISA remained consistent among students with disabilities (SWD), students in economic disadvantage (measured by direct certification), and English learners
• Complete results are posted by Maryland State Department of Education:  https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/

NAEP is a nationally representative assessment that measures what selected students in 4th and 8th grades know in math and reading. City Schools participates in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA). A primary goal of TUDA is to focus attention on urban K-12 education and academic achievement in urban districts. This assessment is normally conducted every two years. The 2021 administration was postponed to 2022 due to the pandemic; the results below compare to the most recent results in 2019.

2022 Results: 

City Schools’ overall NAEP results for 2022 in reading and math reflect trends nationally and in Maryland in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, ongoing investments in literacy helped stave off some of the more significant declines in reading for some students. As was the case nationally and across the State, results for math were less favorable than reading in general.

Literacy Results: Compared to the most recent administration of NAEP in 2019, Baltimore’s results held steady overall in grade 8 while Maryland decreased by 5 points. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic more negatively impacted 4th graders overall, a group that was just beginning their academic careers when the pandemic hit.

Math Results: City Schools saw declines in grade 8 math that were slightly lower than those of the State - City Schools decreased 9 scale score points while overall Maryland schools decreased by 11 points. In fourth grade, City Schools saw larger declines than the State in math with our students declining 15 points while students across the State declined 10 points.

For more information on NAEP and the results of the 2022 administration, please visit: https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

News release | Investments following 2022 NAEP Results (Spanish)

2017 and 2019 Results: 

Review our news releases - 2017 | 2019