Baltimore County adds 19 schools to its 4- and 5-star ranks

Baltimore County Public Schools lost the top spot for the most five-star schools in the state to Montgomery County, ending its two-year reign.

But Baltimore County has two more five-star schools and 17 more four-star schools compared to last year’s ratings on the Maryland School Report Card.

In its seventh year, the Report Card evaluated public schools on a five-star scale using factors like test scores, attendance and graduation rates. State education leaders are working on revamping that system.

Here’s how Baltimore County schools stack up.

25 schools earned five stars, up from 23 last year

Some of the newest additions to the five-star school list include Seventh District Elementary School, which earned four stars last year. The school was also recently named one of 23 Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools.

Perry Hall Elementary School also moved from four to five stars, the highest rating the school has seen since at least 2019. Half of the student population comes from low-income households.

Stoneleigh Elementary, Hampton Elementary and Hereford High dropped from five stars to four.

Here’s the list of the five-star schools:

• Carroll Manor Elementary
• Chapel Hill Elementary
• Charlesmont Elementary
• Cromwell Valley Elementary Regional Magnet
• Eastern Technical High
• Fifth District Elementary
• Fort Garrison Elementary
• George W. Carver Center for Arts and Technology
• Hillcrest Elementary
• Jacksonville Elementary
• Kingsville Elementary
• Lutherville Laboratory Elementary
• Oliver Beach Elementary
• Perry Hall Elementary
• Pinewood Elementary
• Riderwood Elementary
• Rodgers Forge Elementary
• Seventh District Elementary
• Sparks Elementary
• Timonium Elementary
• West Towson Elementary
• Westchester Elementary
• Western School of Technology & Environmental Science
• Winand Elementary
• Woodbridge Elementary

The county’s most common rating is four stars

Seventeen more schools have four stars compared to last year. Some dropped from five stars, and others, like Pikesville High School, increased from three.

Pikesville’s multilingual learners improved by 18.6 percentage points on the state math tests this year — a possible contributor to its improved rating. Test scores could also be the reason why Dumbarton Middle School earned its fourth star since the school has now had three years of growth on the state English test. Now, 73.1% of the middle schoolers are proficient in the subject.

Ten schools jumped from two to three stars. Several are on the east side of the county: Sandy Plains Elementary, Chesapeake High, Holabird Middle, Sussex Elementary, Dundalk Middle and Norwood Elementary.

Lyons Mill Elementary was the sole four-star school that dropped to three, and Pine Grove Middle was the only three-star school that dropped to two.

Only two schools in the district earned one star: Maiden Choice and White Oak, two specialized schools that focus on students who need additional services to learn.

Baltimore County made a strong showing for a third year.

With 15% of its schools earning five-stars, Baltimore County has the third-highest percentage of five-star schools in Central Maryland, coming after Harford and Howard counties.

Montgomery County, the state’s largest school district, this year doubled its number of five-star schools to 36, besting Baltimore County’s two-year record. Seventeen percent of Montgomery schools earned five stars.

Compared to all of Maryland’s 24 districts, Baltimore County has the sixth-highest percentage of five-star schools.

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.