Hampstead Hill Academy, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Hampstead Hill Academy

Hampstead Hill Academy is a regular public charter school in Baltimore serving prekindergarten through eighth grade. It sits within the Baltimore City Public Schools system, a large urban district covering the independent city of Baltimore. The school’s location on South Linwood Avenue places it in the southeastern part of the city, an area of rowhouse neighborhoods and changing residential blocks.

The student body of roughly this school for its grade band is diverse. White and Hispanic students each make up around two-fifths of enrollment, Black students account for a sizable share, and smaller groups of Asian, two-or-more-races, and American Indian students fill out the rest. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The school serves a balanced mix of grades, with enrollment spread fairly evenly from kindergarten through eighth grade and a smaller prekindergarten cohort.

Academically, Hampstead Hill posts results that stand out within its district context. When compared to other districts in Baltimore city, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile. That is a real distinction, because the district-wide numbers are low; this school’s performance is well above the median among its city peers.

State testing in English language arts shows strong results. Proficiency rates across grades three through eight are consistently solid, with the highest marks in seventh and eighth grade, where the share of students meeting the bar is quite high. Reading and writing performance is a clear strength of the school.

Math is more uneven. Elementary grades three and five post moderate proficiency, fourth and sixth grades are lower, and seventh graders do well. But eighth-grade math is a soft spot, with a proficiency rate that is very low. That is a sharp drop from the seventh-grade result and a parent may want to look into this further with the school. The school also offers Algebra I, and students taking that course achieve at a strong rate, though it is not clear how many students take it or how that fits with the eighth-grade math pathway.

Science results are solid at both tested grades, fifth and eighth, with the eighth-grade science proficiency rate notably higher than the eighth-grade math rate. Eighth-grade social studies results are also solid.

Because Hampstead Hill ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not serve high school grades, so this gap reflects the grade band, not a missing outcome.

The school is a public charter, which means it operates with some autonomy from the district while remaining tuition-free and publicly funded. It is classified as a regular school, not an alternative or special-purpose program. No information was available on its program offerings, staffing, discipline data, or chronic absenteeism rates, so this picture of the school’s academic environment is built entirely from the state testing results and the demographic and governance profile.

The housing market in the school’s zip code is more affordable than the Maryland state median, with home values below the state benchmark. Rents are moderate relative to incomes. The broader Baltimore economy has shifted from heavy industry to services, with Johns Hopkins Hospital and University as the top employers. The city has seen a modest population decline in recent years, and a major infrastructure project to replace a collapsed bridge is underway, with completion expected in the coming years. Civic life centers on the Inner Harbor, and the city has a walkable urban fabric with many historic districts.

For families considering this school, the academic picture is one of strength in English language arts and science, with math results that vary by grade and a noticeable challenge in eighth grade. The school’s diverse student body and charter status mean it is a public option that operates under its own governance structure within the Baltimore City system. The peer context is the city of Baltimore, and relative to that setting, Hampstead Hill performs well overall.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · district not reported

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · district not reported

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

Grade 552%

School 52% · district not reported

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

Grade 638%

School 38% · district not reported

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 765%

School 65% · district not reported

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 60 pts above county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · district not reported

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 456%

School 56% · district not reported

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 566%

School 66% · district not reported

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

Grade 670%

School 70% · district not reported

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

Grade 781%

School 81% · district not reported

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

Grade 878%

School 78% · district not reported

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 53 pts above county median

Science

Grade 551%

School 51% · district not reported

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 864%

School 64% · district not reported

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 57 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 17% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 50 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-income8%Higher-income46%38 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income68%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income43%0 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income18%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income12%Higher-income28%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income30%23 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income10%Higher-income33%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income9%Higher-income20%10 pp gap