Opinion: Baltimore City students deserve better education opportunities

As Baltimore students head back to school, consider the long odds they face to have a successful year. A 2019 national test found that more than half of Baltimore City’s eighth-grade students scored below basic in reading or math. Fewer than 1 in 3 Baltimore City public school students scored “proficient” on the last state assessment before the pandemic. That was before prolonged school closures caused students to fall even further behind. In 2021, Baltimore City reported that 65 percent of secondary students and half of elementary school students were failing at least one class.