Executive Summary

Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) is rated Meets on Pillars 2, 4, and 5 and Approaching on Pillars 1 and 3. The district's strongest results are in teacher workforce stabilization and community-based supports. Teacher vacancies fell from 337.3 in 2022-23 to 33.4 in 2025-26, National Board Certification (NBC) achievements grew from 4 to 122, and the minimum teacher salary of $61,026 exceeds the $60,000 requirement.^{[1] [2]} Community schools expanded from 22 in SY21-22 to 110 of 176 schools in SY25-26, and chronic absenteeism fell from 33.2% to 25.6%.^[1]

In early childhood education, Pre-K enrollment grew from 400 in 2022-2023 to 2,643 in 2025-2026, with private-provider enrollment rising to 226 three-year-olds and 178 four-year-olds.^{[1] [3]} Kindergarten readiness remains at 40.1%, however, and is 16.0% for students receiving special education services.^[1] In college and career readiness, grades 3-8 ELA proficiency rose from 38.0% to 45.4% since 2021-2022, while grades 3-8 math proficiency stands at 24.1% and 44.9% of high school completers met college and career readiness (CCR) standards in SY2024-25.^[1]

On governance, the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) approved all 7 plan components on January 30, 2025, and the 2025 Career Ladder plan was approved on November 20, 2025 with no further revisions needed.^{[1] [4]} Remaining priorities include teacher retention (69.3% against a 71.6% target), only 4 of 9 programs budgeted to meet Minimum School Funding for FY26, widened proficiency gaps for students with disabilities and multilingual learners, and capital and credentialing constraints on Pre-K expansion.^[1]