By: Johanna Husena
Howard County school district in Maryland is ranked as one of America’s most efficient school districts that ensures the success of every individual student. For example, educators at Howard are continuously working toward closing the racial gap between BIPOC and their white counterparts, such as ending the intentional gatekeeping of resources and having professors go through diversity training to recognize implicit biases they may have. Yet despite how well Howard’s school district is doing, Baltimore’s school district has been ranked heavily low.
Many Baltimore schools have been facing underfunding issues, which have inhibited children’s educational careers. For example, heating and air conditioning systems broke during elementary and middle schools, and children attended classes where it was too hot or cold. It became worse when children stayed at home and missed school, which disrupted their education in the sense that some students had little to no access to continue learning from home. Lack of proper facilities, resources, and overall education inaccessibility can lead to poor academic performances within schools, especially for younger children in elementary.
Test results reveal similar trends in elementary schools across Baltimore city
The graph above shares the percentages of in-coming kindergarten students who passed the KRA (Kindergarten Readiness Assessment), which measures whether a child is deemed ready to start school when showing the appropriate foundational skills and attitudes reflected in the curriculum standards. The range of preparedness by in-coming kindergarteners varies amongst the fifty-five neighborhoods in Baltimore in 2016. For example, Orangeville / East Highland had the lowest percentage of students who succeeded in the KRA at 17.24%, whereas those in Mount Washington / Cold Spring were at 83.33%. In 2017, there is a stark difference in how the eastern and western sides of Baltimore have lower KRA passing rates than more northern and central parts of Baltimore.
The chart above refers to third graders who met and/or passed the PARCC Math across the fifty-five Baltimore areas. In 2016, Harbor-East had the lowest percentage of third-grade students doing well on the PARCC Math portion (5.97%), whereas Greater Roland Park / Poplar Hill had the highest percentage of third-graders who met and/or exceeded the PARCC Math test (80.39%) in the same year and the following year.
This chart above illustrates the percentage of fifth grade’s PARCC Math scores, similar to the third-grade student’s chart above. In 2016 and 2017, students who attended schools in the northern-central part of Baltimore (such as Howard Park, Homeland, and Greater Roland Park) displayed the highest average scores for the PARCC Math exam. Everywhere else fell below fifty percent.
Lastly, the chart above illustrates the various percentages of fifth-graders who met and/or exceeded the PARCC Reading exam. The exam results are similar to the previous chart about fifth-graders who met and/or passed the PARCC Math. In 2017, more areas directly underneath the Greater Roland Park area had high percentages of fifth-graders passing, such as Midtown and Inner-Harbor. Unfortunately, the third-graders data set for PARCC reading was not readily available.
Lack of educational resources and opportunities harms BIPOC students in “Black Butterfly” of Baltimore based on educational testing results
The information above shows how certain areas have a higher percentage of students scoring on their assessment exams. These specific areas with high-scoring students correlate with the white neighborhoods in Baltimore, referring to the “white L.” For example, Greater Roland Park / Poplar Hill located within the north-central part of Baltimore always had the highest percentages on all the charts. Students scoring the lowest percentages or are barely meeting the test’s standards attend elementary schools in areas where the “black butterfly” is present, which represents the segregated black communities across Baltimore’s eastern and western halves. The drastic differences in both KRA and PARCC results for elementary school children from the different areas illustrate the racial divide in educational access and resources within the fifty-five neighborhoods of Baltimore.
Baltimore’s “black butterfly wings” are distinguishable in the map above, which shares a higher percentage of Black / African-American students attending public schools in those areas where there are lower test KRA and PARCC test results. BIPOC students are not able to afford opportunities that will lead them to academic success due to the structural inequalities and biases upheld by society. For example, the Baltimore Sun obtained information describing how white students are enrolling into gifted and higher classes nearly five times more than their black peers in elementary school. BIPOC children are not able to obtain these opportunities due to a lack of access and educational resources, such as underfunded school programs or parents not being able to afford better classes for their children due to redlining in these areas that create high unemployment rates.
External groups help recognize the obligation to help secure academic careers for BIPOC students
The lack of focus and perpetuation of educational inequalities in Baltimore’s public elementary schools stifle the academic success of numerous BIPOC students. Furthermore, inadequate budget to support facilities, lack of higher educational programs, and teachers’ racial biases do not help BIPOC students in the long run regarding their careers, families, etc. In 2019, Gov. Larry Hogan received a letter from concerned activist groups (ALCU and LDF) asking to use the state’s budget to fund all Baltimore school facilities and programs. These external groups and other resources helping to reach out to legislative leaders can shed light on other racial equity issues that even contribute to educational inequalities for BIPOC students and their families in Baltimore.