Bay-brook Elementary/middle, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Bay-brook Elementary/middle

Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle is a regular public school in Baltimore City that serves students from prekindergarten through eighth grade. It operates as part of the Baltimore City Public Schools district. The school is located in the southern part of the city, in a neighborhood that sits near the Patapsco River and the border with Brooklyn. Because the school does not serve high school grades, it has no graduation rate to report.

The student body is diverse in its composition. A substantial share of students come from low-income households, as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. The largest groups of students are Black and Hispanic, with smaller numbers of white students and students who identify as two or more races. In terms of grade distribution, the middle school grades have the largest enrollments, while the elementary grades are somewhat smaller, and the school also serves a notable number of prekindergarten students.

On state assessments administered through the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, Bay-Brook’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Baltimore city. In English language arts, proficiency rates across grades three through eight range from roughly a tenth of students up to a fifth. In math, rates are lower across the board, with the highest grade level showing about a tenth of students scoring proficient, and several grade levels well below that. In science, tested in grades five and eight, proficiency is similarly low, and in eighth-grade social studies, about a sixth of students met the proficiency standard.

The school’s academic trends are limited to a single year of data, so there is no trajectory to examine. A parent may want to discuss with the school what interventions or supports are in place to raise achievement, especially in math and science, where the proficiency rates are most depressed. The available data does not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, or course access, so the picture of the school environment remains incomplete.

Bay-Brook is not a charter school, and its magnet status is not listed in the directory data. Title I status is also not reported in the available information. The school does not appear to operate with any special designation that would remove it from standard accountability measures.

The surrounding city of Baltimore presents a mixed economic context. The city has shifted from a heavy industrial base to a service-oriented economy, with Johns Hopkins Hospital and University as the top employers. The Inner Harbor area remains a focal point for civic and commercial life. Housing values in the area are below both the statewide and national benchmarks, while rents are also comparatively lower. The city’s population has seen a slight decline in recent years.

For a family considering Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle, the core takeaway is a school with high concentrations of economic need and low measured academic performance across all tested subjects and grades. The school provides a pre-K-through-eighth-grade pathway within a single building, which some families value for continuity. The lack of data on student support programs, enrichment offerings, and school climate means that a visit and conversation with the principal would be essential to understand what the school provides beyond what the test scores show.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · district not reported

▼ 20 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 45%

School 5% · district not reported

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

Grade 54%

School 4% · district not reported

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

Grade 63%

School 3% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 74%

School 4% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 811%

School 11% · district not reported

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 310%

School 10% · district not reported

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 411%

School 11% · district not reported

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

Grade 510%

School 10% · district not reported

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

Grade 617%

School 17% · district not reported

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

Grade 719%

School 19% · district not reported

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

Grade 820%

School 20% · district not reported

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

Science

Grade 54%

School 4% · district not reported

▼ 16 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 811%

School 11% · district not reported

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

Social studies

Grade 816%

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

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▲ 3 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-income10%Higher-income15%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income7%Higher-income9%2 pp gap