Margaret Brent Elementary/middle, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Margaret Brent Elementary/middle

Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle is a regular public school within Baltimore City Public Schools, serving prekindergarten through eighth grade. It is not a charter school. The school sits on East 26th Street in Baltimore, a city that has shifted from heavy industry to a service-oriented economy, with Johns Hopkins Hospital and University as top employers. The city's neighborhoods offer a walkable urban fabric and numerous historic districts, though the city's population has seen a slight decline in recent years.

The school enrolls a moderate number of students for a PK through 8 building, with roughly balanced grade-level groups. The student body is diverse: a little over two-fifths of students are Black, roughly one-third are Hispanic, and the remainder are White, Asian, multiracial, or from other backgrounds. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which makes the school eligible for universal meal programs under federal provisions, though the data did not specify Title I status directly. Enrollment by race and economic status are available; data on English learner and special education identification were not reported in the available profile.

On the most recent state assessments, reading proficiency at Margaret Brent varied by grade. In the lower elementary grades, roughly a quarter to a little over a quarter of students scored proficient or above. By middle school, English language arts performance improved: in seventh and eighth grades, the share reaching proficiency was somewhat higher, landing near the upper end of what the school sees. Mathematics results were notably lower across the board. In third grade, a modest share of students met the bar. By fifth grade and into middle school, the proportion of students scoring proficient was below one in ten in several grades, and in sixth and eighth grades, no tested student reached the proficient mark. Science proficiency, assessed in fifth and eighth grades, was also very low. On the state social studies test, which is taken by eighth graders, about a quarter of students met the standard.

The school's overall proficiency, averaged across all tested subjects and grades, places it in the top quartile when compared to other districts within Baltimore city, according to the available county-level comparison. This context matters: the comparison set is small, so the position describes relative standing among a thin field rather than broad regional performance. The multi-year trend data only includes a single year, so no trend direction could be computed.

Because Margaret Brent ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, nor are there data on chronic absenteeism in this profile. Families looking at high school options will need to consider the next step separately, as the school does not serve those grades. The school offers a single-building experience from kindergarten through the end of middle school, which can appeal to families who want their child in the same setting for many years, with the usual transition to a high school afterward.

The district brief did not identify recent program changes or parent-relevant developments at the district level, though that does not mean none occurred; the search did not surface them. A family curious about current initiatives or budget shifts would need to follow Baltimore City Public Schools' own communications or attend school board meetings.

Housing in the area around the school carries a moderate price point relative to the state as a whole, with home values and rents that have seen slight year-over-year decreases. The national median household income context suggests that a typical family in the area would find mortgage costs on a median-priced home somewhat above the national rent-to-income ratio, though the numbers vary considerably by neighborhood.

For a parent or resident sizing up this school, the core picture is one of a diverse, city-anchored school where elementary reading shows some strength, but math and science performance is a persistent challenge, and middle school reading marks the highest point on the profile. A family considering this school may want to look into the school's approach to math instruction and intervention, as the proficiency data there is quite low. The older elementary and middle school grades test across multiple subjects, so a conversation with the school about how it supports students in reaching grade-level benchmarks, particularly in math and science, would be a natural next step.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · district not reported

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

Grade 57%

School 7% · district not reported

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

Grade 60%

School 0% · district not reported

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

Grade 74%

School 4% · district not reported

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · district not reported

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

Grade 426%

School 26% · district not reported

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 522%

School 22% · district not reported

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 620%

School 20% · district not reported

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

Grade 739%

School 39% · district not reported

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

Grade 840%

School 40% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Science

Grade 57%

School 7% · district not reported

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

Grade 88%

School 8% · district not reported

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

Social studies

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 17% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 12 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-income6%Higher-income13%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income29%23 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income18%Higher-income25%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income8%Higher-income13%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income13%Higher-income24%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income18%Higher-income15%3 pp gap