Bladensburg High

Bladensburg High in Bladensburg, MD, is a large traditional public high school serving 2,114 students in grades 9-12 within the Prince George's County Public Schools district, where 97% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school faces severe academic challenges, most notably in mathematics, where only 2.7% of students are proficient—far below the state average of 27.1% and significantly lower than nearby schools like Charles Herbert Flowers High (12.8%) and Duval High (10.9%). In contrast, English Language Arts proficiency stands at 35.5%, which is actually higher than the district average. The dropout rate has skyrocketed to 26.5%, more than triple the district average and far worse than International High School @ Langley Park (12.0%), a school just 0.72 miles away with similar poverty levels. The graduation rate of 68.3% is the lowest among immediate peers, compared to 89.6% at Charles Herbert Flowers High and 88.7% at Eleanor Roosevelt High. Chronic absenteeism affects 44.9% of students, 50% higher than the district average.

Despite spending $18,236 per student—more than higher-performing nearby schools like Charles Herbert Flowers ($16,254) and Eleanor Roosevelt ($15,873)—the school's performance continues to deteriorate. The situation has worsened rapidly, with the dropout rate increasing nearly fivefold from 5.6% in 2021-2022 to 26.5% in 2024-2025, and math proficiency remaining consistently below 3%. The comparison with International High School @ Langley Park, which achieves an 87.9% graduation rate despite similar poverty levels, suggests that school structure and leadership play a critical role in outcomes. Bladensburg High is in urgent need of systemic reforms to address its deepening crisis.