Fallstaff Elementary/middle, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Fallstaff Elementary/middle

Fallstaff Elementary/Middle serves students from prekindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public school within Baltimore City Public Schools. The school is located on Fallstaff Road in northwest Baltimore, a city neighborhood that sits within a broader urban landscape defined by historic districts, a service-oriented economy anchored by Johns Hopkins Hospital and University, and a mix of residential and commercial zones. The city has seen a modest population decline in recent years, and a major infrastructure project to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge is underway with completion expected in a few years.

The student body is large for a PK-8 school. The racial and ethnic composition is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with a much smaller number of white students and very small representations of other groups. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which is a common indicator of household economic need. Data on the share of students with disabilities or classified as English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school about those populations directly.

On state assessments, proficiency rates in English language arts were low across all tested grades. The highest single-grade rate was in eighth grade, where about one-third of students met the proficiency standard. In all other grades, the share of students scoring proficient or above ranged from roughly one-tenth to less than one-fifth. In math, the numbers were lower still. Proficient rates in every tested grade were in the single digits, with the highest being in third grade at about one-fifth of students and the lowest dropping close to zero. The single-year proficiency index, which averages results across all subjects and tested grades, placed the school in the bottom quartile among the few district entities that reported data within Baltimore city.

In science, fifth graders had no students reach proficiency, and eighth graders had a small share. On the social studies assessment in eighth grade, a modest share reached the proficient level. The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate is reported.

The surrounding housing market in the zip code shows home values below the state and national medians. Rents are also lower than what is typical statewide. The estimated mortgage payment on a median-priced home runs somewhat higher than the typical rent, and rent as a share of income sits a bit below the national average, suggesting housing costs are not as crushing here as in some other parts of the region.

The school does not have charter status, and whether it is a magnet or Title I school was not specified in the available data. No district-level changes of lasting parent impact were identified in a search of recent news. No data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about attendance patterns and school climate.

For a family weighing Fallstaff, the picture is straightforward. The school serves a high-needs student population in a city neighborhood, and academic performance on state tests was well below state averages across all subjects and grades. A parent looking at this school would likely want to understand what academic interventions and supports are in place, what the school's approach to math and reading instruction is at each grade level, and whether there are any specialized programs or partnerships that supplement the core curriculum. The eighth-grade English language arts result is a relative bright spot within an otherwise very challenging performance profile, and a parent may want to explore whether that reflects a particular instructional strength in the middle school years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · district not reported

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 47%

School 7% · district not reported

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

Grade 53%

School 3% · district not reported

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

Grade 63%

School 3% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 72%

School 2% · district not reported

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

Grade 85%

School 5% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 318%

School 18% · district not reported

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 414%

School 14% · district not reported

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · district not reported

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

Grade 612%

School 12% · district not reported

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

Grade 718%

School 18% · district not reported

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

Grade 834%

School 34% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · district not reported

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

Grade 86%

School 6% · district not reported

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

Social studies

Grade 88%

School 8% · District 17% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below 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-income5%Higher-income28%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income14%Higher-income7%8 pp gap