Dr. Nathan A. Pitts-ashburton Elementary/middle, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Dr. Nathan A. Pitts-ashburton Elementary/middle

Dr. Nathan A. Pitts-Ashburton Elementary/Middle is a regular public school in Baltimore serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It operates within Baltimore City Public Schools, the district covering the entire city. Because the school stops at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and state testing data are available only for the grades that participate in Maryland’s assessments.

The school enrolls a small number of students for a PK-08 building. The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with a modest share of Hispanic students and a very small number of students who identify as two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating that the school serves a community with high economic need.

State testing results from Maryland’s MCAP and MISA assessments show very low proficiency rates across all tested subjects and grades. In mathematics, no students met the proficient or above benchmark in fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grade, and proficiency was minimal in the lower elementary grades. English language arts results were similarly low: in every tested grade, fewer than one in five students scored at the proficient level, and in fifth grade the rate was especially small. Science and social studies scores followed the same pattern, with only a tiny share of eighth graders reaching proficiency in science and a similarly low share in social studies. The overall picture is that the vast majority of students at this school are not meeting state academic standards. A parent considering this school would likely want to learn more about the academic support programs, interventions, and improvement efforts in place.

Compared to other districts in Baltimore city, this school’s overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile. There was no data available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing, so those factors could not be assessed here.

The school is located in the Ashburton neighborhood of northwest Baltimore. Baltimore is an independent city with a varied residential fabric, a major port, and a service-oriented economy led by Johns Hopkins Hospital and University. The city has numerous historic districts and a walkable urban core centered on the Inner Harbor. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code are modest relative to Maryland and national averages, and rents are correspondingly moderate. The city’s population has experienced a slight decline in recent years, though a major infrastructure project to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge is underway.

Baltimore City Public Schools is the district authority. No specific recent changes of lasting parent impact were found in publicly available sources, so this narrative does not address district-level initiatives or reforms.

This school fits families who are looking for a neighborhood elementary and middle school in Baltimore’s Ashburton area and who are aware that the academic proficiency levels are very low. It may serve students who need strong foundational support and intervention, though the available data does not detail what programs or services are offered. A parent would be well served to visit the school, speak with staff about reading and math instruction, and ask about enrichment or extracurricular opportunities, as none of that information was present in the data reviewed here.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 35%

School 5% · district not reported

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 417%

School 17% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 50%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 70%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 314%

School 14% · district not reported

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 422%

School 22% · district not reported

▼ 23 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · district not reported

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 613%

School 13% · district not reported

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 720%

School 20% · district not reported

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 816%

School 16% · district not reported

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 82%

School 2% · district not reported

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 17% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

This schoolBaltimore City Public Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income13%Higher-income33%20 pp gap