Thomas Jefferson Elementary/middle, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Thomas Jefferson Elementary/middle

Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the Baltimore City Public Schools system. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school, located on Dryden Drive in Baltimore. The school's enrollment is relatively small for a PK-8 building, with a student body that is overwhelmingly Black, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

The school offers a continuous pathway from early childhood through the end of middle school, meaning students can spend nine years in the same building. This kind of setting can provide stability for families who want a single school community through those years, though it also means students do not transition to a separate middle school environment midway through their education.

On state assessments administered through Maryland's MCAP and MISA programs, the school's results reflect significant academic challenges. In math, proficiency rates across tested grades were low, with none of the sixth-, seventh-, or eighth-grade students tested reaching the proficient or above threshold. In English language arts, results were higher but still modest; seventh grade posted the strongest performance, while other grades fell well below that mark. Science and social studies results were also low. When compared with other districts in Baltimore city, the school's overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint.

Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school's academic trends data shows only a single year of assessment results, so there is no available information on whether performance is improving or declining over time.

The school is part of the Baltimore City Public Schools district, and a search of publicly reported district changes found general budget and enrollment data but no specific recent changes of lasting impact to parents.

Families considering this school should understand the full picture. The school serves a population with high economic need, which research consistently links to additional challenges in the classroom. The academic results are soft across the board, and the math results in particular are an area where a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what instructional supports and interventions are in place. The school's location in Baltimore places it within a city that has a mix of residential neighborhoods and a service-oriented economy, with Johns Hopkins Hospital and University as top employers. The city's population has seen a slight decline in recent years, and a major infrastructure project to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge is underway, with a completion target a few years out.

For a family weighing this school, the core consideration is whether the school's academic environment, which shows clear need, aligns with the level of support a child may require. The continuous PK-8 structure and small size are structural characteristics that some families value. The academic performance data, however, is the most consequential piece of information here, and it points to a school where a substantial majority of students are not meeting grade-level benchmarks on state tests. Any family considering enrollment should seek out additional information on the school's specific academic programs, intervention strategies, and the experience of current families to get a fuller sense of the day-to-day instructional environment.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 323%

School 23% · district not reported

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 416%

School 16% · district not reported

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 57%

School 7% · district not reported

▼ 14 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · district not reported

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

Grade 70%

School 0% · district not reported

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · district not reported

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

Grade 415%

School 15% · district not reported

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 57%

School 7% · district not reported

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

Grade 628%

School 28% · district not reported

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

Grade 747%

School 47% · district not reported

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

Grade 816%

School 16% · district not reported

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

Science

Grade 54%

School 4% · district not reported

▼ 16 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · district not reported

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

Social studies

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 17% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 3 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income27%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income15%Higher-income8%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income13%Higher-income9%3 pp gap