Holabird Middle, Baltimore MD - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Holabird Middle

Holabird Middle serves grades four through eight in Baltimore, part of Baltimore County Public Schools. The school is a regular public school and sits in the southeastern section of the city near the county line.

The student body is large for a middle school that includes fourth and fifth graders. The demographic makeup is diverse, with students who identify as Hispanic or Latino making up the largest share, followed by white students and then Black or African American students. Asian students and students of two or more races each account for a modest portion of the enrollment, and there are small numbers of American Indian or Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating a high level of economic need in the school community.

On the most recent state assessments, Holabird Middle’s proficiency rates were very low across every subject and grade level tested. In English language arts, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above was below one in five in every grade, with rates that declined from fourth grade through sixth grade before rising slightly in seventh and dropping again in eighth grade. In math, the results were even lower, especially in the upper grades; the rate fell to a very small fraction in sixth grade and nearly zero in seventh and eighth grades. Science results, for the grades tested, were also low, as were social studies results for eighth graders. The data spans a single school year, so it is not possible to determine from available information whether these results represent a trend or a single point in time.

No high school graduation rate is reported, as the school does not serve twelfth graders. Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing was not available in the data provided. A parent looking into these areas would need to contact the school or district directly.

Baltimore is an independent city with a mix of residential neighborhoods, a major port, and a service-oriented economy where Johns Hopkins Hospital and University are the largest employers. The city has walkable historic districts such as Fell's Point and Federal Hill, and the Inner Harbor functions as a major civic and commercial center. 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 an estimated completion in 2028. Publicly reported housing values in the school’s ZIP code are well below the Maryland state average, and rents, while also below the state average, have shown modest recent increases.

Baltimore County Public Schools has made several recent changes that affect the daily experience of students. A new elementary literacy curriculum, aligned with the science of reading and emphasizing phonics and comprehension, began in the 2023-2024 school year and will continue to shape instruction. A district-wide cell phone policy implemented in the 2024-2025 school year requires middle school students to keep phones stored and silenced during the school day. Boundary changes approved for several high school feeder systems, including Hereford, Dulaney, and Loch Raven, take effect in the 2025-2026 school year. The district is also implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a multi-year state plan that expands pre-K, increases teacher salaries, and boosts funding for public schools, with additional state education funding allocated for the current fiscal year and projected increases for the next. Voters approved a school safety and security bond issue that funds secure entrance vestibules, access control systems, and cameras across district schools.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 416%

School 16% · district not reported

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

Grade 511%

School 11% · district not reported

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

Grade 62%

School 2% · district not reported

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

Grade 70%

School 0% · district not reported

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

Grade 81%

School 1% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 422%

School 22% · district not reported

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

Grade 517%

School 17% · district not reported

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 69%

School 9% · district not reported

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

Grade 721%

School 21% · district not reported

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · district not reported

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

Science

Grade 58%

School 8% · district not reported

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

Grade 89%

School 9% · district not reported

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 34% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolBaltimore County 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 4Lower-income11%Higher-income10%0 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income18%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income31%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income15%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income15%Higher-income18%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income12%6 pp gap