Baltimore, MD – According to FOX Baltimore, Maryland public schools continued to grapple with declining academic performance in 2025, even as state funding surged by more than $2 billion over the previous three years. Key indicators such as four-year high school graduation rates, dropout rates, and SAT scores all showed negative trends, raising questions about the effectiveness of recent educational investments.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, enacted by state lawmakers in 2021, promised improved student outcomes through substantial additional tax dollars allocated to public education. However, data analyzed by Project Baltimore revealed persistent challenges. Statewide, the four-year high school graduation rate dropped to 86.4% in 2025, marking the lowest level in three years. Concurrently, the dropout rate rose to 9.9%, the highest in 13 years.
In Baltimore City Public Schools, the situation appeared particularly acute. Despite a 38% increase in funding since 2017, the district’s four-year high school graduation rate improved by only 1 percentage point over that period. The dropout rate in the city reached 20.8% in 2025, a 15-year high. Average SAT scores for Baltimore City students fell to 856, the lowest on record. Statewide, SAT scores declined by more than 60 points since 2017, dropping from 1,063 to 1,001 in 2025.
Educational advocate Jeanne Allen, founder of the nonprofit Center for Education Reform, attributed these trends to systemic issues in public education. With over 30 years of experience advocating for expanded opportunities, Allen argued that the current structure fails to incentivize success. “The problem is, there is one system that gets money whether or not the schools succeed or fail,” she stated.
Allen highlighted that Maryland’s zoning-based assignment system limits parental choice, confining most students to their assigned neighborhood schools. She called for bolder reforms, including robust charter schools, microschools, private schools, and parochial options, with funding following students to successful programs. “It takes boldness and saying enough is enough,” she emphasized.
As an example, Allen pointed to Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida, where families enjoy greater choice, including funded homeschooling via vouchers. Federal test scores showed Miami-Dade students outperforming their Baltimore counterparts in math and reading, while spending less per student—$13,138 in 2023 compared to Baltimore City’s $22,977.
Officials from Baltimore City Schools largely blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the academic setbacks. Maryland state education leaders also cited recent changes in federal immigration enforcement as a contributing factor. Allen, however, described the situation more starkly: “Education in Maryland and particularly in Baltimore City Schools and county, frankly, is broken.”
The advocate urged Maryland to empower states and communities to design flexible systems centered on parental choice. “The solution is letting states and communities be free to develop and design schools and systems that parents can choose,” she explained. As discussions continue in Annapolis, the push for accountability and innovation remains a focal point for addressing Maryland’s educational challenges.
Maryland education, public schools, graduation rates, dropout rates, SAT scores, Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, school choice For more information, visit FOX Baltimore.