Baltimore Schools Failing Black Students

Students in Baltimore schools are suffering, according to two reports showing that most kids in the city are well below proficiency in math. It is a problem faced by many parents and children in major cities, but Baltimore appears to be hit hardest. Given that Maryland’s schools received far more funding than most others, it will be difficult for the city’s government to argue that it needs more money.

To make things even harder on parents, Maryland’s school choice program leaves much to be desired. Unless something changes, these children – most of whom are black – will be trapped in substandard schools under a city government that seems unable, or unwilling, to address the problem.

Baltimore Schools Coming Up Short

Fox 45 reported that the Maryland Department of Education released the 2022 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP), which analyzes student proficiency in a variety of subjects. The results of the test showed that the city’s math scores were the lowest in the entire state. “Just 7 percent of third through eighth graders tested proficient in math, which means 93 percent could not do math at grade level,” according to the report.

But that’s not all.

Project Baltimore looked at the results and found that about 23 of Baltimore schools did not have a single student who was proficient in math at grade level. “Among the list of 23 schools, there are 10 high schools, eight elementary schools, three Middle/High schools and two Elementary/Middle schools,” the report explained.

“We’re not living up to our potential,” said Jovani Patterson, a Baltimore resident who filed a lawsuit against Baltimore City Schools in January 2022. The lawsuit accuses the district of failing to educate students and misusing taxpayer funds. “We, the taxpayer, are funding our own demise,” Patterson said shortly after filing.

“These kids can’t do math. You’re not preparing them to buy groceries. You’re not preparing them to do accounting, to count their own money. You’re not preparing them to read contracts and negotiate salaries,” Patterson continued.

Baltimore City Public Schools’ student body is made up mostly of black students, who represent 75.7% of pupils. Given the fact that the city’s predominantly Democratic leaders are the most vociferous when claiming to champion the black community, one would think they would have some answers. But according to another Fox 45 report, these officials did not seem too interested in discussing solutions. The outlet reached out to several officials, many of which did not respond.

What Do Baltimore’s Officials Have to Say for Themselves?

City Councilman Robert Stokes said he would call a hearing to bring school leaders before the Education, Workforce and Youth Committee that he chairs to get answers about this development. However, he does not yet have a date scheduled. Councilman Ryan Dorsey, however, said he is “not going to talk about it” when reached by Fox 45 News.

Delegates Robbyn Lewis and Sandy Rosenberg took a more defensive tone. Rosenberg indicated he would respond to the outlet’s emails “[When] you do a story about students who are succeeding in City School.” When asked who he would hold responsible for the dismal test scores, he responded: “Your boss and the distorted coverage you provide.”

These answers don’t exactly inspire confidence, do they?

Baltimore City Public Schools currently operates with a $1.6 billion budget. This breaks down to about $21,000 per student, which is nothing to sneeze at, given that the US Census Bureau revealed the national average school funding per student is just $13,494 annually. This means the city’s schools are receiving almost double the amount of funding to produce these substandard academic results.

Can There Be a Solution?

Unfortunately, the future does not look promising for black students stuck in Baltimore schools. The city has struggled for years to provide an adequate education to prepare these kids for adulthood, and it fixing the problems doesn’t seem to be a priority for most of the folks in charge. To make matters worse, Maryland does not provide much in the way of school choice. It is not easy for parents to send their kids to other public schools with better standards and results. Moreover, their voucher program only provides a little over $3,000 for private school tuition. To give a sense of perspective, under Iowa’s new school choice legislation, each student receives up to about $7,000 to offset the cost of private learning institutions.

This is one of the reasons black students in cities like Baltimore are in a precarious position. The city continues failing them while making excuses for their shortcomings, and most of the students who graduate from high school are not up to par when it comes to operating in the real world. They are not prepared for university, which contributes to the ongoing economic woes faced by black residents of the city. The failure to provide a decent education only contributes to the cycle of poverty and crime in other major cities run by progressives, who seem to have no answers for this problem.