Forty-one percent of Baltimore public high school students made below a D grade point average during the first three quarters of the 2020-2021 school year, according to an analysis of the district’s data.
Baltimore City Schools assembled a chart showing the GPA for every high school grade in the city. The data was reported by Project Baltimore, an investigative reporting series FOX affiliate WBFF operates.
“Consistent with the experience of many school districts across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic created significant disruptions to student learning,” Baltimore City Schools said in a statement. “As early as the summer of 2020, City Schools identified large numbers of students with decreases in their grade point averages and classroom performance when compared to past performances.”
The shift took place after schools shuttered for online learning due to COVID-19, as only 24% of the city’s high school students earned below a 1.0 GPA at the time, data taken from the 2019-2020 school year showed.
“This is terrible,” said Jovani Patterson, who ran for Baltimore City Council president in 2020. “This is just further perpetuating a cycle of poverty, of despair.”
“If almost half of our kids are failing, what options do they have after high school? This is really disheartening. It’s sad to see this,” Patterson added.
In contrast to the percentage of near-failing students, 21% of Baltimore City Schools high school students earned a GPA of 3.0, or a B average.
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The Washington Examiner contacted Baltimore City Schools for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
