Baltimore students’ English test scores are rising fast, even as they struggle in math

Baltimore students improved their English language arts and math scores, outpacing statewide growth on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program this year.

Progress across the state and city has slowed since last year, according to the annual test results released Tuesday by Maryland’s education department. The exams test students in grades 3-8 and some high schoolers in English, math and science.

Baltimore’s English and math proficiency rates remain lower than most other school districts’. But English scores are improving fast and have been since 2018.

Here’s a first look at what the test scores tell us about academic achievement in city schools.

English scores have surged since 2022

Since 2022, the share of Baltimore students considered proficient in English language arts has grown from 22.5% to 32.9%. Only Calvert and Harford counties, which are much smaller school districts than Baltimore, saw larger four-year gains.

Statewide, 51.7% of students passed the test.

Baltimore has literacy coaches in every pre-K through eighth-grade school, a key component of the state’s plan to boost scores.

Math scores remain stubbornly low

Baltimore has the second-worst math scores in the state, with 13.3% of students passing the test. That’s up from 12.6% the year before. Scores have improved every year since 2022.

Statewide, 27.1% of students are proficient in math.

Although math gains across all grades aren’t keeping pace with those in English, students taking Algebra I saw a 2.2-percentage-point climb this year.

FSK, Hampstead Hill are the city’s shining stars

Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School in Locus Point boasted the best elementary scores in the district.

There, 72.4% of elementary students passed the English exam and 60.1% of students were proficient in math, well above district and state averages. Those scores are up double digits since 2022.

Hampstead Hill Academy led Baltimore’s middle schools, with 79.2% of students proficient in English and 54.3% in sixth through eighth grade math. At the Canton charter school, nearly 20% of students are learning to speak English.

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute earns top scores

The popular Northwest Baltimore high school had the best English scores in the district, with at least 95% of students scoring proficient. And they’re gaining ground faster than the district average.

Across the city, 46.9% of 10th graders passed their English test, improving 4.3 percentage points over 2025 — the strongest growth rate in the district.

These are the last scores that reflect 10 years of Sonja Brookins Santelises’s tenure as CEO of Baltimore schools. Jermaine Dawson, an educator obsessed with data, took her place July 1.

Science is a sore spot

Fifth and eighth graders take the annual science exam, and in Baltimore, they’re struggling to make up ground.

In the city, 12.6% of fifth graders were proficient, compared to 32.4% of fifth graders statewide. That’s a 4.6 percentage point jump from last year, but below the state’s growth.

Eighth graders lost ground, going from 12.7% proficiency in 2025 to 12.1% proficient in 2026. But they’re not alone: Statewide, 30.9% of students passed the science exam, a 0.5 percentage point decline.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.