Baltimore, MD – According to FOX Baltimore, Maryland‘s high school students dropped out at rates unseen in over a decade, even as education funding reached record levels. The state’s four-year high school dropout rate surged to 9.9% in 2025, marking a 33% increase from 7.4% in 2021 and the highest figure in 13 years.
Governor Wes Moore highlighted the state’s commitment to education during his recent State of the State address. He proclaimed that Maryland was on track to have the nation’s best public schools, proposing a historic $10 billion investment for the upcoming year. These funds were described as targeted efforts to yield tangible results in communities across the state.
However, data from the Maryland State Department of Education, analyzed by Project Baltimore, painted a contrasting picture. Combined state and local funding for PreK-12 public education rose by approximately 16%, from $12.3 billion in 2023 to $14.3 billion in 2025. Despite this influx, more students opted to leave school before graduation.
The trend began post-2021, with the dropout rate steadily climbing each year. State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carey Wright acknowledged the issue, emphasizing that each local school system must address its unique student needs. “It’s always a problem when you don’t have children in school,” Wright stated. “What we’re trying to do is to let superintendents know that we’re here to help them.”
Regional disparities were stark, particularly in the Baltimore area. Baltimore City Schools reported the state’s highest dropout rate at 20.8%, the district’s worst in 15 years. Baltimore County Public Schools saw its rate hit 12.2%, a 14-year peak. Officials in Baltimore City attributed the rise partly to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that Hispanic and multilingual learners expressed fears about attending school amid recent federal immigration enforcement actions.
Dr. Barbara Dezmon, former Education Chair of the Maryland State Conference of the NAACP, offered a different perspective. She argued that internal school system failures, rather than external factors, were driving students away. “These children go to school year after year, failing,” Dezmon explained. “Why go to a place that makes you feel bad about yourself? These children have limited prospects for their futures. They’re going to continue living probably in substandard conditions and in poverty.”
Wright countered that attributing the increase solely to academic frustration oversimplified the matter. Her department heard from local systems that the primary culprits remained the ongoing repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainties stemming from federal immigration policy. “I never thought we’d be in this position, to be honest,” she said. “And so, it’s hard to convince a parent, who doesn’t have that confidence that their child is going to be safe, to release them from home.”
The superintendent questioned whether immigration policy alone explained the upward trend since 2021, as significant federal changes did not occur until 2025. Nonetheless, the data underscored a troubling disconnect between increased education funding and student retention. As Maryland continues to pour resources into its public schools, stakeholders called for targeted interventions to address the root causes of dropping out, ensuring that investments translate into better outcomes for students statewide. For more information, visit FOX Baltimore.