Summary:
Zip code 21128, serving the Perry Hall area of Baltimore, Maryland, is home to three public elementary schools (PK-5) that are part of the Baltimore County Public Schools district, and they present a fascinating study in contrasts within a small geographic area.
The standout performer is Chapel Hill Elementary, which ranks in the 98th percentile statewide with a 5-star rating. Its students achieve exceptional results, with 75.7% proficiency in Math and 83.8% in ELA—rates over 3.4 times higher than the district average. Honeygo Elementary is a strong, consistent performer, ranking in the 87th percentile (4-star) and also significantly outpacing district averages. In stark contrast, Joppa View Elementary ranks in the 70th percentile (3-star) and struggles with higher rates of economic disadvantage (53.16% free/reduced lunch) and chronic absenteeism (18.4%), which is 3.4 times higher than at Chapel Hill. This creates a wide performance gap: Chapel Hill students are 1.7 times more likely to be proficient in Math than Joppa View students.
A critical takeaway is that spending does not predict success. Honeygo, the middle-performing school, actually has the highest per-student spending ($18,195), while top-performing Chapel Hill has the lowest ($17,069). This suggests that factors like teaching quality and community support are the primary drivers. Despite the internal gap, all three schools outperform the district average in Math and ELA, making this zip code a relative pocket of excellence. Science is a key differentiator, with Chapel Hill's 5th-grade science proficiency (76.3%) nearly double that of its neighbors, hinting at a particularly strong STEM curriculum.
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