Here's How Baltimore School District Ranks: 24/7 Wall Street

By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. - Baltimore

2021-07-24

Every child is born to a unique set of circumstances. And it is these different social, familial, economic, environmental, and many other factors, that help shape who they become. While these conditions are countless, a handful of factors play an outsized role in a child’s development and likelihood for future success — including academic success.

Whether or not a child succeeds academically can depend considerably on school quality. A student who falls behind in one school district might have excelled academically in another. By no means limited to the classroom, many of the strongest influences on a child’s future are in the home environment, and the resources available or absent there.

Baltimore City Public Schools, a massive district with nearly 80,000 students, ranks as the worst school district in Maryland. Children growing up in financially insecure households face greater challenges to academic success than those in more stable households, and across the Baltimore City district, 30.7% of children live in poverty, nearly triple the 11.9% statewide child poverty rate.

According to Niche, Baltimore city schools district also compares poorly for college prep, academics, and resources and facilities.

The four measures used to determine the worst school district in every state are: the child poverty rate, the teacher-to-student ratio, per-pupil spending, and the share of adults with a college education. All data came from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. This is the worst school district in every state.

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This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.