Fury as ZERO children at 13 Baltimore state schools pass math exam - as parent groups call on leaders to step down

Baltimore's failing education systems have been warned of for years

In state test results, 13 high schools had zero students test 'proficient' in math

Among the 13, a staggering 74.5 percent scored the lowest possible score

A slate of Baltimore schools have sparked outrage after zero students passed their state math exams - with almost 75 percent testing at the lowest possible score.

The poor performances came in the latest round of Maryland's state testing, where 13 high schools in the city - a staggering 40 percent - failed to produce a single student with a 'proficient' score in math.

'This is educational homicide,' said Jason Rodriguez, deputy director of Baltimore-based nonprofit People Empowered by the Struggle, to Fox Baltimore.

The activist said there is 'no excuse' for the failure, which has come after years of warnings over the city's poor education standards.

It also comes days after a scathing new study found that schooling across America fell to dire lows during the pandemic, concluding that one-third of fourth and eighth grade students can't even read at a 'basic' level.

The concerning results, which were first raised by Project Baltimore, also saw 74.5 percent of students in the 13 failing schools score just a one of four on their test - the lowest a person can score.

Some of the city's best-known schools, including Patterson High School, Frederick Douglass, and Reginald F. Lewis, made their way onto the list, while Baltimore City Schools also received $1.6 billion last year from taxpayers.

It was the largest funding the educational authority has ever received, leading to questions over where the money went.

'So, it's not a funding issue. We're getting plenty of funding,' Rodriguez said. 'I don't think money is the issue. I think accountability is the issue.'

Alongside the huge investment from the taxpayers, the school district also received $799 million in Covid relief funding from the federal government.

Rodriguez's group has previously held rallies over the mounting educational crisis in the city, and in 2021 led calls for Baltimore City Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises to resign over low test scores and falling graduation rates.

The frightening situation has come six years after another report by Project Baltimore again found that 13 schools in the city had zero students test 'proficiently' in math.

'We're still dealing with these same issues year after year,' Rodriguez continued.

'It's just scary to me and alarming to me because we know that what's happening now, you know, it's just opening up the floodgates to the school-to-prison pipeline.

'I'm beyond angry... This is why we've been calling for the resignation of the school CEO.'

While a lack of funding may not be to blame, a bombshell study published this month by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) found that 16 million students were chronically absent during the pandemic.

The millions of students had missed more than 10 percent of schools days during the 2021-22 year, twice the number seen in previous years.

More than eight in 10 public schools also reported stunted behavioral and social-emotional development in their students due to the pandemic, according to a May survey cited in the report.

Project Baltimore was reportedly able to produce the results through a source, and the state is not due to announce the official results until later this month. The results are allegedly expected to be heavily redacted to confuse the number of schools underperforming.

In a statement following the shocking test results, Baltimore City School District said: 'Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) appreciates recent one-time and ongoing increases in funding from our community.

'City Schools uses the funding to increase student achievement. Our complete 2023 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) math data paints a genuine picture of our progress.

'But make no mistake: these recent increases do not diminish or patch over years of chronic underfunding that has directly contributed to our current outcomes. That recovery takes an equal or more significant amount of time to remediate.

'Right now, the facts are clear: City Schools' students have earned two consecutive years of improved scores on the math MCAP following national decreases during the COVID pandemic. Seven of eight grade levels experienced growth in math between SY2021-22 and SY2022-23, mirroring growth in Maryland overall.

'We acknowledge that some of our high school students continue to experience challenges in math following the pandemic, especially if they were struggling beforehand.

'The work is underway to improve outcomes for students. But treating student achievement as an 'if-then' proposition does a great disservice to our community.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...step-down.html