Baltimore City Public Schools dropout rate rises to 20.8%, 15-year high

Baltimore City Public Schools recorded a four-year high school dropout rate of 20.8% in 2025, meaning more than one in five city high school students left before graduating, a level described by state data as the highest in 15 years. The percentage marks a sharp swing from 12.5% in 2021 and represents a 67% increase over four school years, based on Maryland State Department of Education cohort figures.

The surge follows academic and attendance disruptions tied to the pandemic-era 2020–21 school year. BCPS reported in May 2021 that 63% of middle- and high-school students were failing at least one class during 2020–21, and the 2021 MCAP results showed fewer than 10% of Baltimore City students in grades 3, 4, and 5 scored proficient in reading and English/language arts. In 2021, Baltimore City Public Schools enrollment stood at 77,856 students, underscoring the scale of the system affected.

Baltimore City Public Schools attributed the rise to "The Covid-19 pandemic" and the "challenges students faced during that historic period." The district said it is "focused on early intervention, strong partnerships, and direct outreach" as part of its response, but did not attach raw counts or timelines to those efforts in its public statement.

Longtime education advocate Dr. Barbara Dezmon — who "has devoted her life to public education" — urged urgency about the trend, and "Dezmon says public officials should be sounding the alarm," reflecting concern from community leaders over the trajectory.

Policy research underscores the broader social and economic consequences tied to elevated dropout rates. Levin and Belfield (2007) estimated the average high school dropout costs the economy about $272,000 over a lifetime through lower tax contributions and higher reliance on public benefits, and a 2008 study estimated Maryland loses nearly $200 million a year in tax revenue because of high school dropouts. Among 25- to 34-year-olds in the labor force, unemployment figures cited in policy analyses show a 13% rate for dropouts compared with 7% for those whose highest attainment is a high school credential.

The increase is not limited to the city. Baltimore County Public Schools saw its four-year dropout rate rise from 8.5% in 2021 to 12.2% in 2025, a 43% increase, illustrating a regional pattern of backsliding in graduation stability. The Maryland State Board of Education reported in 2023 that four-year cohort dropout rates have increased for nearly all races, ethnicities, and student groups across the state.

Historic context points to persistent challenges: an earlier public post noted that in 2017 BCPS operated with a $1.3 billion budget and a 70.7% four-year graduation rate, highlighting that long-term improvement has proved elusive. With 2025 dropout rates at their highest in 15 years, the city faces mounting fiscal and public-health risks tied to lost earnings, higher unemployment, and worse health outcomes among adults who did not complete high school. BCPS says it will pursue targeted interventions; the coming months will test whether those programs can reverse a 67% climb in students leaving school before graduation.