The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in English language arts. The lowest is 9% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Belle Grove Elementary
Belle Grove Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system, though it is located in the Baltimore ZIP code 21225, putting it near the county line on the city’s southwest edge. Enrollment is modest for an elementary school serving this grade band. The student body is diverse: families of Hispanic heritage make up the largest share, followed by White students, then Black students, with smaller groups of students who are multiracial, Asian, and American Indian. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school in a high-poverty context.
State testing results from the most recent school year provide a clear picture of academic performance. On the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, the share of students scoring proficient or above in math was low across all tested grades, and the share scoring proficient or above in English language arts was low as well, though a bit higher than math. In grade-level science, the share of fifth graders reaching proficiency was low. These are the most recent results available, and the school has only a single year of data in the current testing framework, so there is no trend line to show whether performance is moving. Looking across these figures, a parent will see that the school serves a population where a large majority of children are not yet meeting state proficiency benchmarks, a pattern that often signals the need for significant academic intervention and support.
The school itself is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. It is not a specialty or alternative program, so the testing results reflect the general education population. The district recently opened a new middle school, Severn Run High School, in the growing western part of the county, but Belle Grove is in the Baltimore-adjacent area, and no boundary changes specific to this school were reported.
Baltimore, the city named in the address, is an independent city with a mix of residential neighborhoods, a major port, and a service-oriented economy anchored by Johns Hopkins Hospital and University. The downtown and Inner Harbor area concentrate commercial and civic life. The city has many historic districts and more public statues and monuments per capita than any other U.S. city. Population has seen a slight decline in recent years, and a major infrastructure project to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge is underway with completion anticipated in a few years. This context matters because the school draws from a neighborhood that is part of Anne Arundel County but sits adjacent to the city, so the local housing market and community feel may reflect both suburban county dynamics and the older, denser character of the city edge.
Housing values in the ZIP code area are notably below the state benchmark, and rents are moderate relative to national figures. For a family looking at this school, the most important piece of information is the academic attainment: proficiency rates are low in both math and reading, and the school is working with a student population that is almost universally from low-income households. A parent considering Belle Grove should want to understand what interventions and supports the school offers, how the district is approaching instructional improvement here, and what the trajectory has been in prior years, though only one year of current assessment data is available to examine. The school fits a family that is weighing a neighborhood with relatively affordable housing and an elementary school that is open to all, with the understanding that academic outcomes are a soft spot that warrants close investigation.
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