Posted on 03/12/26
| News Source: FOX45
Baltimore, MD - Mar. 12, 2026 - Maryland public schools appear to be struggling. Despite billions of additional dollars going to public education, many key academic outcomes have worsened. What is the problem?
One long-time educational advocate says the problem is well known, but Maryland’s leaders are not willing to address it.
“It's the most important issue of our day,” said Jeanne Allen, founder of the non-profit, The Center for Education Reform. “We have seen in public education, there is a continual understanding and increasing appreciation that there is a problem.”
For more than 30 years, Allen has been advocating for increasing educational opportunities for students and families.
“There's now a renewed appreciation of the patent failure of most schools to serve most students,” explained Allen.And Allen says those failures are most prevalent in places like Baltimore City and Maryland.
In 2021, state lawmakers in Annapolis passed the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. The law pumps billions of additional tax dollars into public education statewide.
Marylanders were told additional money would equal improved student outcomes. But years of investigations and analysis of data by Project Baltimore call the Blueprint’s promise into question.
Over the last three years, according to state data, Maryland public education funding has increased by more than $2 billion – about 16%. But, in 2025, Maryland’s four-year high school graduation rate fell to 86.4%, its lowest level in three years. Also in 2025, the four-year high school dropout rate statewide increased to 9.9%, a 13-year high.
Many local jurisdictions are also struggling academically. Project Baltimore found despite a 38% increase in funding since 2017, Baltimore City Public Schools four-year high school graduation rate is up just 1%. Meanwhile, the City’s high school dropout rate is now at a 15-year high of 20.8%.
“The problem is, there is one system that gets money whether or not the schools succeed or fail,” Allen told Project Baltimore.
Another indicator of student success is SAT scores. In 2025, the average SAT score for students in Baltimore City, fell to 856 – the lowest score on record. Project Baltimore also found, in Maryland, the average SAT score is down more than 60 points since 2017, from 1063 to 1001 in 2025.
Baltimore City Schools mostly attributed its current academic struggles to “The Covid-19 pandemic”. Maryland state education officials also blame recent shifts in federal immigration enforcement.
“Education in Maryland and particularly in Baltimore City Schools and (Baltimore) county, frankly, is broken,” stated Allen.
To fix the problem, Allen says Maryland has to change how students are educated. She says parents need to have options, such as robust charter schools, microschools, private schools and parochial schools. And educational dollars have to follow students where they are succeeding. Right now, in Maryland, most students attend the school to which they are zoned.
“It takes boldness and saying enough is enough,” stated Allen.
Allen points to Miami-Dade County Public Schools as an example of where families can choose a school for their children, including homeschooling, which is funded by state vouchers.
According to federal test scores, students in Miami significantly outscore Baltimore in math and reading.
And Miami-Dade spends far less money. According to the most recent U.S. Census numbers, in 2023, Miami-Dade schools spent $13,138 per student. Baltimore City Schools spent $22,977.
“The solution is letting states and communities be free to develop and design schools and systems that parents can choose,” explained Allen. “Maryland does not have that.”