The reported proficiency rate for Science is 15%.
Original Research by School Decision on Franklin High
Franklin High is a regular public high school serving grades nine through twelve in Reisterstown, part of Baltimore County Public Schools. It sits in a community that began as a tavern stop on an old road and has since become a primarily residential suburb of Baltimore. The historic core along Reisterstown Road hosts a farmers market, concerts, and festivals, often at the nearby middle school grounds. The high school itself is close to that center, with the old Franklin Academy cupola now standing on the high school campus. The surrounding area is largely built out, with suburban subdivisions and the main artery connecting to the Baltimore Beltway, so growth in the student base is more about neighborhood turnover than new development.
The student body is diverse, with a substantial share of students from Black, Hispanic, and white backgrounds and smaller groups from Asian and multiracial families. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a common marker of economic need. The school is not a charter or magnet and has no Title I designation in the data, though the meal-eligibility share suggests it serves a mixed-income population. No information was available on special education or English learner enrollment, leaving those dimensions unclear for a parent looking to understand support structures.
What the state testing results show is a mixed picture, but it comes with important caveats. For the 2020-2021 school year, math proficiency data was suppressed, so no conclusion can be drawn for that subject from that year. Science results from the same year, though for grade eight rather than the high school grades, showed a low proficiency rate, though it is unclear why an eighth-grade test appears under Franklin High’s data. More recent results from the 2024-2025 school year give a clearer look: ELA proficiency was above the midway point, while Algebra 2 proficiency was low. These are single-year snapshots, not trends, but they suggest that many students meet standards in English while math performance is an area of concern. A parent may want to ask the school directly about math instruction and intervention.
The data does not include a graduation rate for Franklin High, which is a notable gap for a high school. That could reflect the reporting year or a data availability issue, not necessarily a problem with the school itself. No information was available on college readiness measures such as AP or dual-enrollment participation, nor on career and technical education pathways. Without these, a family trying to assess postsecondary preparation has limited evidence.
The district-level picture adds some context. Baltimore County Public Schools has recently adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum aligned with the science of reading, though that impacts younger students. The district also implemented a district-wide cell phone restriction starting in 2024-2025, limiting phone use during instruction for all grades. A voter-approved bond issue funded safety upgrades like secure entrances and cameras across district schools. These are system-wide changes that affect Franklin High’s environment, but the school’s own programming details remain absent from the record.
The housing market in Reisterstown shows home values and rents roughly in line with national averages, and the area is considered affordable relative to local incomes. The community has a historic feel and a cluster of civic anchors like the library and park, but the daily texture is that of a suburb where cars are the main way to get around.
For a parent or resident, Franklin High presents as a large, diverse high school in a stable suburb with a historic center. Academic performance is mixed, with ELA results looking stronger than math, though the data is limited and recent. The absence of a graduation rate and program offerings means a family would need to visit, talk to school staff, and perhaps look at the school’s website for more detail on what pathways are available beyond core classes. The school is part of a district that is making system-wide changes, but how those play out at Franklin High specifically is not captured here.
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