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John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle

Public Grades PK, KG-8
829th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 865 Maryland Elementary Schools
Better than 4% of Maryland elementary schools
Summary

John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle is a public school in Baltimore, Maryland that serves 1,014 students in grades PK-8. It is part of the Baltimore City Public Schools district, which is ranked 24th out of 25 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite relatively high spending per student, John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle faces significant challenges. The school has extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 48.7% to 58.1% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, the school's test scores are consistently well below the district and state averages across all grade levels and subjects. For example, in 2024-2025, only 7.4% of students were proficient or better in MCAP Mathematics, compared to 12.6% for the district and 26.5% for the state. The school's subgroups, including female students, male students, white students, and low socioeconomic status students, all rank in the bottom 1-2% of Maryland elementary schools in their respective categories.

When comparing John Ruhrah to nearby schools in the same district, it performs significantly worse across most metrics. For example, Hampstead Hill Academy, a public charter school just 1.31 miles away, has much higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism, and better overall performance. John Ruhrah's performance has remained consistently poor over the past several years, with little to no improvement in test scores, chronic absenteeism, or other key metrics, suggesting systemic challenges that have not been adequately addressed.

1,061
Students ?
12.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$24,297
Per pupil spending ?
57.5%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 701 Rappolla Street
       Baltimore, MD  21224

(410) 396-9125

District: Baltimore City Public Schools

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
89.7%
White:
6.0%
African American:
3.4%
more
 See top rated Maryland elementary schools

 Compare John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 8th percentile in 2014 → 4th in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 12 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Maryland average (11% vs 37% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)
!English Language Arts scores 35 pts below the Maryland average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school11%
District avg20%
Maryland avg37%
Elementary school
829th of 865
Maryland public elementary schools ?
Bottom 4%▼ down 7 pts since 2015
From bottom 11% (2015) to bottom 4% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Maryland Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
304th of 337
Maryland public middle schools ?
Bottom 10%▼ down 11 pts since 2015
From bottom 21% (2015) to bottom 10% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Maryland Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
80th of 104Elementary Schools in the Baltimore City Public Schools
24th of 25Baltimore City Public Schools among Maryland districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202510.4829 of 8654.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20247.8839 of 8592.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.9828 of 8553.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202212.2797 of 8627.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20197.9826 of 8533.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201811.7780 of 8579.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201711.1784 of 8477.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20169.8795 of 8455.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201514.8764 of 85911.1%★☆☆☆☆
201410.7794 of 8678.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201323.7703 of 84717.0%★☆☆☆☆
201227.2690 of 85719.5%★☆☆☆☆
201132.9632 of 85325.9%★☆☆☆☆
201034.8634 of 85525.8%★☆☆☆☆
200940.6581 of 85031.6%★★☆☆☆
200835.9612 of 83827.0%★☆☆☆☆
200775.6177 of 81878.4%★★★★☆
200678.1162 of 80479.9%★★★★☆
200587.057 of 80592.9%★★★★★
200482.3118 of 80385.3%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
20218.5789 of 7960.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202113.1544 of 5460.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
20218.8783 of 7880.6%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
20215.5525 of 5280.6%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202515.8304 of 3379.8%★☆☆☆☆
202411.3299 of 3288.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20236.8309 of 3224.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202221.2272 of 33318.3%★☆☆☆☆
20216.5299 of 3031.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201917.5254 of 31619.6%★☆☆☆☆
201818.5268 of 32818.3%★☆☆☆☆
201714.5279 of 31712.0%★☆☆☆☆
201619.4250 of 31420.4%★☆☆☆☆
201521.0249 of 31521.0%★☆☆☆☆
201416.9280 of 33917.4%★☆☆☆☆
201319.8267 of 31615.5%★☆☆☆☆
201227.5237 of 31424.5%★☆☆☆☆
201130.3229 of 30925.9%★☆☆☆☆
201041.3219 of 32432.4%★★☆☆☆
200959.6150 of 30150.2%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
20216.9297 of 3032.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaryland percentileRating
202125.3238 of 27312.8%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
Female (2021)1st percentile
Male (2021)1st percentile
White (2021)1st percentile
Low Socio Economic Status (2021)<1st percentile
Middle school
Low Socio Economic Status (2021)13th percentile+12 vs school
Female (2021)2nd percentile~ school
By subject vs Maryland (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts16%-35 vs state
Social Studies15%-25 vs state
Mathematics7%-19 vs state
Science5%-23 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle

John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle ranks in the bottom 4.2% of Maryland elementary schools.

Students at John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle are 90% Hispanic, 6% White, 3% African American.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,061 students attended John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maryland State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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