The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in English language arts. The lowest is 7% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Moravia Park Elementary
Moravia Park Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the Baltimore City Public Schools system. Located on Frankford Avenue in northeast Baltimore, it draws from the surrounding residential neighborhoods of a city that has long been defined by its working-class roots, its port, and a service economy anchored by Johns Hopkins Hospital and University. Baltimore’s historic districts, walkable street fabrics, and concentration of civic life around the Inner Harbor shape the broader environment, though the school sits in a more residential part of town. The city’s population has seen a modest decline in recent years, and a major infrastructure project to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge is underway, with completion expected within the next few years.
The school’s enrollment is large for an elementary school, and its student body is predominantly Black, with much smaller shares of Hispanic, Asian, and white students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating a high level of economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records we used, which is a gap a parent may want to explore directly with the school.
Moravia Park Elementary participates in Maryland’s state testing program. On the MCAP assessments in math and English language arts, and on the MISA science test for grade five, results show that proficiency rates vary by grade and subject. In third grade, roughly a third of students met the proficiency bar in math, and a slightly higher share did so in English language arts. By fourth and fifth grades, proficiency rates in both subjects dropped notably, and science proficiency in fifth grade was low. The overall pattern is one in which a modest portion of students reach the state’s academic standards, and the school’s performance, while low in absolute terms, places it in the top quartile on a combined proficiency index relative to other schools in Baltimore city. That comparative position, however, reflects a narrow frame; the city itself has many schools facing similar challenges.
Because the school ends at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and discipline were not available in the sources we reviewed. We looked for recent changes or initiatives from the district that might directly affect families at this school, but found little that was specific or lasting enough to include.
For a family considering Moravia Park Elementary, the key picture is of a school serving a high-poverty urban community, where most students are Black and where academic proficiency on state tests falls well below state averages, though the school stands at the higher end of performance within the city. The neighborhood itself offers a mix of historic rowhomes and older housing stock, with the typical home value in the area below the national median. With no program or magnet designation, the school follows a standard elementary curriculum. A parent may want to ask about the specific supports available for struggling readers and math students, about the school’s approach to early literacy in the primary grades, and about how the school works to address the challenges that come with concentrated poverty. The school’s status as a regular neighborhood elementary means that most of its students come from the immediate area, so the peer environment will reflect the local community.
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