BALTIMORE – Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) is outperforming Maryland overall in kindergarten readiness, according to the latest results from state education officials. District leaders attribute that success to the system’s investments in early learning.
Forty-six percent of City Schools students who attended a City School’ PreK or Judy Center demonstrated readiness on the state’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) in the 2023-24 school year compared to 44 percent for Maryland overall.
City Schools’ Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, White, economically disadvantaged, and Multilingual learner students all outperformed the state in the same categories. Students with disabilities in City Schools performed at the same level as their peers in the state. These gains occurred while Baltimore City experienced a sharp increase in the number of pre-kindergarten students and students that require specialized services.
Students attending a City Schools Pre-K or Judy Center also had higher rates of readiness than students attending other prior care settings like private care or in-home options. The results show that pre-kindergarten students in Baltimore City are better prepared for kindergarten than at any time since the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020. These positive results are an indication that pre-K-focused learning programs are paying dividends for students.
“We know that young people who enter kindergarten at or above grade level will be more equipped to experience success throughout their educational careers. These latest results verify that our long-term and consistent investments in the education of our youngest learners are continuing to pay off, as larger numbers of our youngest learners are ready to thrive from day one,” said Sonja Brookins Santelises, chief executive officer of City Schools. “As importantly, our pre-kindergarten students are performing better than their peers across Maryland. We are committed to even higher levels of performance in the future.”
The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) is part of Maryland's broader Ready for Kindergarten (R4K) program. The KRA is administered to all kindergarten students in the first quarter of a school year. It allows teachers to measure each child's school readiness across multiple domains.
Key takeaways include:
Locally, our Judy Centers and pre-kindergarten programs continue to be the best way to prepare students for kindergarten.
Among KRA test takers that attended City Schools’ programs the prior year, all student groups have equal or higher readiness as the same groups at the state level.
Black/African American students increased readiness by 6 percentage points, from 40 percent to 46 percent, surpassing the state which is at 40 percent.
Hispanic/Latino students increased readiness by 5 percentage points, from 27 percent to 32 percent, surpassing the state's readiness of 24 percent.
White students increased readiness by 9 percentage points, from 63 percent to 72 percent, outperforming the state's readiness of 59 percent.
Economically disadvantaged students increased readiness by 6 percentage points, from 36 percent to 42 percent, outperforming the state's readiness by 10 percentage points.
Multilingual learner students increased readiness by 9 percentage points, from 15 percent to 24 percent, doubling the state's readiness of 12 percentage points.
Students with disabilities increased readiness by 7 percentage points, from 11 percent to 18 percent, equaling the state's readiness of 18 percent.
📸: Holabird Judy Center Pre-k class learn colors and shapes