Tench Tilghman Elementary/middle, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Tench Tilghman Elementary/middle

Tench Tilghman Elementary/Middle is a regular public school in Baltimore, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It sits within the Baltimore City Public Schools district. The school is located near Patterson Park, in a part of the city that has a mix of rowhome neighborhoods and community green space.

The school’s enrollment of around 368 students is small for a PK-8 school, which means a parent is likely to find a setting where staff and students know one another. The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial share of Hispanic students and a small number of white students. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the economic circumstances of the families the school serves. Information on the share of students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data provided.

On the Maryland state assessments, the school’s results show that few students reached the proficient level across nearly every subject and grade tested. In English language arts, the rate of proficiency varied by grade, with the highest in seventh grade and lower than that in third, fourth, sixth, and eighth grades. In math, the pattern was similar, with proficiency rates in the low to very low single digits across all tested grades. In science, proficiency was also low. On the eighth-grade social studies assessment, the share of students scoring proficient was small. When compared to other school districts within Baltimore city, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile.

These numbers give a straightforward picture: a parent considering this school should expect that the large majority of students are not meeting grade-level benchmarks. Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. A parent may want to ask the school how it identifies and supports students who are behind, and what programs or interventions are in place to move those numbers.

No data was provided on course offerings, staffing ratios, or discipline rates. The district brief turned up no specific recent changes of lasting parent impact. The school is not a charter or magnet, so its enrollment is tied to its attendance zone. A parent deciding between this school and another might want to visit in person and talk to current families about daily classroom experience, given that test scores alone do not capture the quality of a given teacher or the safety of the building.

Housing in the surrounding 21205 zip code is moderately priced relative to the state and national benchmarks, with home values well below the Maryland median. Rents have risen recently on the data shown, and buying a home here carries a monthly cost that is lower than renting a comparable property. That could matter for a family choosing to move into the area for a specific school.

Baltimore itself is a city of diverse neighborhoods, a service-based economy now anchored by Johns Hopkins Hospital and the university, and a historic urban fabric. The population has declined slightly in recent years. The district has not reported major turnarounds or restructuring in the available data, so a parent should consider this school as it is now rather than betting on a near-term transformation.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 314%

School 14% · district not reported

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

Grade 414%

School 14% · district not reported

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

Grade 53%

School 3% · district not reported

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

Grade 63%

School 3% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 72%

School 2% · district not reported

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

Grade 84%

School 4% · district not reported

▼ 1 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 320%

School 20% · district not reported

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

Grade 414%

School 14% · district not reported

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 59%

School 9% · district not reported

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · district not reported

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 728%

School 28% · district not reported

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · district not reported

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 53%

School 3% · district not reported

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 84%

School 4% · district not reported

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

Social studies

Grade 84%

School 4% · District 17% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below 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.