Baltimore City high school dropout rate reaches 15-year high as Maryland reports shifting graduation trends

A sharp increase in Baltimore City’s cohort dropout measure

Baltimore City Public Schools recorded a four-year cohort high school dropout rate of 20.8% for the Class of 2025, the highest level reported for the city in 15 years. The same dataset shows the city’s four-year cohort dropout rate was 12.5% in 2021, indicating a sustained upward trend across multiple graduating classes.

The cohort dropout rate follows a defined group of students from ninth grade through the expected year of graduation and counts students who leave school and do not complete within that four-year window. The 2025 results place Baltimore City as an outlier compared with many other Maryland systems, even as the state overall reports mixed outcomes on graduation and dropout measures.

How Baltimore compares with statewide outcomes

Maryland’s statewide four-year cohort graduation rate for the 2024–25 school year was reported at 86.4%, a decrease from 87.6% the prior year. The state also reported that graduation-rate declines were most pronounced among multilingual learners, while some student groups—including African American students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities—posted increases.

Baltimore City Public Schools reported a 71.7% four-year graduation rate for the Class of 2025 and a 74.6% five-year graduation rate, reflecting that some students graduate on an extended timeline beyond the traditional four years.

Rising dropout rates beyond the city

The increase is not limited to Baltimore City. Baltimore County Public Schools’ four-year cohort dropout rate rose from 8.5% in 2021 to 12.2% by 2025, reflecting similar pressures affecting student persistence and completion across the region.

District responses and competing explanations

Baltimore City Public Schools has linked the higher dropout rate to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges students faced during that period, while emphasizing efforts centered on early intervention, community partnerships, and direct outreach to students.

Baltimore County Public Schools has associated part of its increase with student fear related to immigration enforcement activity affecting some families, while also describing steps such as enhanced monitoring for early intervention, a focus on instructional quality, and expanded credit-recovery options intended to keep students on track to graduate.

Funding context and policy stakes

The dropout surge is unfolding alongside a major statewide school improvement initiative. Maryland’s Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is designed to phase in expanded investments and program requirements over multiple years, including changes to per-pupil funding levels and targeted supports. At the same time, Maryland leaders have publicly debated adjustments to Blueprint spending amid broader budget pressures, underscoring the challenge of aligning new investments with measurable improvements in student attendance, credit accumulation, and completion.

• Baltimore City four-year cohort dropout rate: 20.8% (Class of 2025), up from 12.5% (Class of 2021)
• Maryland four-year cohort graduation rate: 86.4% (Class of 2025), down from 87.6% (Class of 2024)
• Baltimore City four-year graduation rate: 71.7% (Class of 2025); five-year graduation rate: 74.6%

The current data present a dual reality: incremental gains in some graduation measures alongside a steep rise in the share of students leaving school without completing, particularly in Baltimore City.