Hampden Elementary/middle, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Hampden Elementary/middle

Hampden Elementary/Middle, a regular public school within Baltimore City Public Schools, serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It sits in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore, a city that has shifted from a heavy-industry center to a service-oriented economy anchored by Johns Hopkins Hospital and University. The school building is on Chestnut Avenue, and the surrounding area features historic rowhouse blocks and a walkable commercial corridor along West 36th Street known as The Avenue.

The student body is racially and economically mixed. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The population is roughly balanced between white students and Black students, with small shares of students who are two or more races, Hispanic, Asian, or American Indian or Alaska Native. This composition means a child at Hampden will encounter a peer group that reflects a genuine cross-section of the city, not a single demographic.

State testing results for the most recent year available show a sharp divergence by subject and grade level. In English language arts, the school is solid. Across grades three through eight, proficiency rates start strong in the early grades—climbing well past the halfway mark in third, fourth, and fifth grades—and remain above the halfway mark through sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. That is a strength. Students consistently read and write at grade level through the full K-8 span at rates that many Baltimore schools would be glad to match.

Mathematics tells a different story. In third grade the proficiency rate passes the halfway mark, and fourth and fifth grade are not far behind. But in sixth grade the rate drops sharply, and in seventh and eighth grade the numbers fall further. By eighth grade, math proficiency falls to a very low level. That is a soft spot large enough that a family should ask the school directly how it supports middle-grades math instruction, how it identifies students who are behind before they enter middle school, and what interventions it uses.

Science and social studies results for fifth and eighth grade are also on the low side, consistent with the math pattern in the later grades. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.

The comparison with other districts in Baltimore city places Hampden’s overall proficiency index in the top quartile. That label means that within the very narrow field of city districts—there are only two—Hampden's composite performance sits at the upper end. In a larger county or a suburban setting that position would mean less, but in the Baltimore city context it simply confirms that this school performs better on the state tests than the alternative district-level comparison.

The school is a neighborhood, non-charter, non-magnet school. There is no publicly reported information about Title I status, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or chronic absenteeism. A parent may want to ask the school or district for those details, particularly around class size and staff stability.

Housing in the 21211 zip code, which covers Hampden and nearby neighborhoods, carries a typical home value that is lower than the Maryland statewide benchmark. Rents have been rising, and the monthly mortgage on a median-priced home is moderately higher than the typical rent in the area. The neighborhood has experienced modest appreciation recently, and the city’s population has seen a slight decline since the 2020 census. A major infrastructure project to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge, publicly reported at a very high cost, is scheduled for completion in fall 2028. It is not clear how that will affect commuting patterns for families who live near Hampden and work elsewhere in the region.

The district brief for Baltimore City Public Schools turned up no parent-relevant changes in the last four years that the research could confirm—no boundary changes, no program consolidations, no leadership transitions. That absence likely means stability on the district side, but a new family should still verify bus routes and enrollment procedures directly with the district office.

For a family choosing Hampden, the profile is specific. Early-elementary reading instruction is a genuine strength. Middle-grades math is a clear area where the school needs to improve, and a parent whose child is strong in math may need to supplement. The student body is diverse and the neighborhood is walkable with historic character. The school does not have the advanced-course offerings or specialized programs that a magnet or charter might offer; it is a straightforward neighborhood K-8 in an urban district where families should expect to be engaged and attentive to their child's academic trajectory through the middle years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 362%

School 62% · district not reported

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · district not reported

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · district not reported

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 623%

School 23% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 713%

School 13% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 83%

School 3% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 373%

School 73% · district not reported

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Grade 473%

School 73% · district not reported

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

Grade 566%

School 66% · district not reported

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · district not reported

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Science

Grade 532%

School 32% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 829%

School 29% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 17% · ▲ 13 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 18 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 3Lower-income16%Higher-income26%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income19%Higher-income52%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income20%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income42%Higher-income62%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income31%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income6%Higher-income9%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income10%Higher-income13%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income10%Higher-income56%47 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income16%Higher-income37%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income6%Higher-income27%21 pp gap