The Mount Washington School, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on The Mount Washington School

The Mount Washington School is a regular public school in Baltimore serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the Baltimore City Public Schools system, the district that covers the entire city. The school is located in the Mount Washington neighborhood, a residential area in the northern part of Baltimore. The city itself is an independent city with a mix of neighborhoods, a major port, and a service-oriented economy anchored by large employers such as Johns Hopkins Hospital and University. Baltimore’s civic life is concentrated around the Inner Harbor and downtown, and its population has seen a slight decline in recent years. A major infrastructure project, the replacement of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, is underway with an estimated completion in the near future.

Enrollment at The Mount Washington School is mid-sized for a PK-8 school, with roughly similar numbers of students in each grade from kindergarten through eighth grade. The student body is diverse, with a substantial share of students identifying as Black, a smaller share as White, and smaller numbers of students who are Hispanic, Asian, or of two or more races. A meaningful portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, though a majority do not. This indicates a mix of economic backgrounds among families.

The school’s academic performance shows a clear pattern. In English language arts, students in grades three through seven scored at a level where around half or more met the state’s proficiency standard in the most recent testing year, with the strongest results in seventh grade. Eighth grade results in ELA were lower than the earlier grades. In math, the picture is more challenging. Proficiency rates in grades three through five were higher than in the upper grades, but rates in grades six, seven, and especially eight were much lower, with a small share of students meeting the standard in eighth grade. Science results, which are tested in grades five and eight, were also low. Social studies, tested in eighth grade, saw about a third of students meet the standard. Overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades places this school among the top performers among districts in Baltimore city, though this comparison set includes a small number of districts. The data provides only one year of results for most subjects, so it is not possible to see trends here. For parents, the sharp drop in math proficiency between elementary and middle school grades is worth discussing directly with the school to understand what supports are in place.

Because the school serves only through eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The school is not a charter or magnet school, and specific details about program offerings, discipline, staffing, and chronic absenteeism were not available in the data. Information about whether the school receives Title I funding was also not provided.

Housing in the area surrounding the school is priced around the midpoint of values in Maryland, and above the national average home value. Monthly rent estimates are moderate, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment, based on recent interest rates and a typical down payment, is a bit higher than the estimated rent for a similar property. This suggests that buying a home in the neighborhood requires a higher income than renting does. The national unemployment rate is at a level consistent with a stable job market.

The Mount Washington School is a neighborhood school that offers a full PK-8 pathway. Its strongest academic area is English language arts in the elementary and middle school grades. The notable drop in math performance in the middle school grades is a soft spot that families should investigate further. The school serves a diverse student body by race and income, and it sits in a city with a rich historic fabric and a stable, service-oriented economy.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 334%

School 34% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · district not reported

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

Grade 538%

School 38% · district not reported

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

Grade 612%

School 12% · district not reported

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

Grade 716%

School 16% · district not reported

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

Grade 87%

School 7% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 354%

School 54% · district not reported

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · district not reported

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

Grade 559%

School 59% · district not reported

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

Grade 654%

School 54% · district not reported

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

Grade 765%

School 65% · district not reported

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

Grade 844%

School 44% · district not reported

even with state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · district not reported

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

Grade 823%

School 23% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 17% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 19 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-income45%38 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income13%Higher-income41%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income54%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income36%0 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income20%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income9%Higher-income35%26 pp gap