Fort Worthington Elementary/middle, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Fort Worthington Elementary/middle

Fort Worthington Elementary/Middle is a regular public school in Baltimore serving kindergarten through eighth grade. It sits on Hoffman Street in the city’s eastern neighborhoods, inside the Baltimore City Public Schools system. The school is not a charter or a magnet, and its Title I status was not reported in the available data, so it is unclear if it receives the additional federal funding that typically flows to schools with high shares of students from low-income households. The school’s enrollment is moderate for a K-8 building, and the student body is heavily concentrated among Black and Hispanic students, with a much smaller presence of white, Asian, and multiracial students. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting a community with significant economic need.

On the Maryland state assessments, proficiency levels are low across every subject and grade tested. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above is in the low single digits in most grades, with only a thin uptick in fourth grade. The pattern is similar in English language arts: proficiency rates sit in the low teens through most of elementary, then rise slightly in seventh and eighth grades but remain well below a quarter of students. In science, tested in grades five and eight, proficiency is below one in ten. In eighth-grade social studies, proficiency is even lower. A single-year proficiency index computed for the school places it in the bottom quartile when compared to other districts within Baltimore city. Only one year of assessment data was available, so there is no trend to examine.

The school’s grade span means it does not report a graduation rate, as it does not serve high school. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, and special population counts such as students with disabilities or English learners were not available. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these areas, as they shape day-to-day experience.

The surrounding city of Baltimore has a mixed urban fabric. Once a center of heavy industry, its economy now relies heavily on services, with Johns Hopkins Hospital and University as the largest employers. The Inner Harbor, Fort McHenry, and professional sports teams anchor civic life. The city’s population has declined slightly in recent years, and a major infrastructure project to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge is underway, with completion expected in several years. The local housing market reflects the broader city conditions: home values in the school’s zip code sit well below both the state and national medians, and rents are lower than the national average, though they have been rising. The combination of modest housing costs and a large share of students on meal assistance suggests a neighborhood where affordability is not the primary barrier, but economic resources are limited.

The district brief for Baltimore City Public Schools turned up no specific changes or initiatives relevant to parents in the recent public record, so it is not possible to say whether the school is part of any new program or reform effort.

Fort Worthington Elementary/Middle serves a predominantly low-income student population in a city with a storied but struggling economy. Its state test results are very low across the board. For a family deciding whether this school fits their child, the core question will be whether the available academic supports and classroom conditions can meet that child’s needs, and that will likely require a visit and a conversation with the school staff to see what is actually happening day to day.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 32%

School 2% · district not reported

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

Grade 410%

School 10% · district not reported

▼ 18 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 55%

School 5% · district not reported

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

Grade 61%

School 1% · district not reported

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 72%

School 2% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 2 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 311%

School 11% · district not reported

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

Grade 412%

School 12% · district not reported

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

Grade 511%

School 11% · district not reported

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

Grade 614%

School 14% · district not reported

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

Grade 724%

School 24% · district not reported

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

Grade 819%

School 19% · district not reported

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

Science

Grade 57%

School 7% · district not reported

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

Grade 89%

School 9% · district not reported

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

Social studies

Grade 83%

School 3% · District 17% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 9 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 7Lower-income6%Higher-income16%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income8%Higher-income14%7 pp gap