For the past several weeks, one Fox affiliate in Baltimore has been publishing some staggering stories about the Baltimore public school system under an investigative series called "Project Baltimore." Just a few weeks ago we noted one of those stories in which an undercover teacher admitted that public schools routinely pass kids that never even bother to show up for class a single day during the school year.
Now, a stunning new installment of the Project Baltimore series from Fox 45 reveals that 13 public high schools sprinkled around Baltimore, of the city's 39 total, had exactly 0 kids that tested proficient in math.
An alarming discovery coming out of City Schools. Project Baltimore analyzed 2017 state testing data and found one-third of High Schools in Baltimore, last year, had zero students proficient in math.
Project Baltimore analyzed 2017 state test scores released this fall. We paged through 16,000 lines of data and uncovered this: Of Baltimore City’s 39 High Schools, 13 had zero students proficient in math.
- Achievement Academy
- Carver Vocational-Technical High
- Coppin Academy
- Excel Acadamy @ Francis M. Wood High
- Forest Park High
- Frederick Douglass High
- Independence School Local 1
- Knowledge and Success Academy
- New Era Academy
- New Hope Academy
- Northwestern High
- Patterson High
- The Reach! Partnership School
Meanwhile, digging a bit deeper, Fox 45 also found that of the 3,804 students in Baltimore's worst 19 high schools, only 14 of them, or less than 1%, were proficient in math.
Digging further, we found another six high schools where one percent tested proficient. Add it up – in half the high schools in Baltimore City, 3804 students took the state test, 14 were proficient in math.
- Ben Franklin H.S. at Masonville Cove
- ConneXions: Community Based Arts SchoolDigital Harbor High School
- Edmondson-Westside High
- Renaissance Academy
- Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy
Not sursprisingly, only one Baltimore school replied to Fox 45 with a generic comment suggesting that improvement is difficult and "will take time." That said, why do we suspect that 'improvement' will also take just a little more taxpayer money despite the fact that Baltimore already spends $16,000 per year per student...which, mind you, is more than many private schools that deliver far better results.
With these eye-opening results, Project Baltimore reached to North Avenue. But no one inside the building would sit down to answer our questions. Instead, we got a statement. Concerning our investigation, it read, “These results underscore the urgency of the work we are now pursuing. We must do more to meet the needs of all our students.”
That work, according to the statement, involves a new math curriculum started this year, enhanced teacher development and expanded partnerships to provide opportunities for students.
The statement concludes, “There is no simple answer that will close the achievement gap for Baltimore’s students. Though we all want to see results quickly, the work is hard and will take time.”
Of course, we're almost certain that these poor results have absolutely nothing to do with Baltimore's stellar, unionized teachers and administrators who will undoubtedly get to maintain their jobs and exorbitant public pensions despite the complete failure of their students.
http://foxbaltimore.com/embed/news/project-baltimore/13-baltimore-city-high-schools-zero-students-proficient-in-math