Best High Schools in Zip Code 21231

Zip code 21231 in Baltimore, Maryland, is home to a single high school, Paul Laurence Dunbar High, which serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Baltimore City Public Schools district.

Paul Laurence Dunbar High stands out as a school of stark contrasts. It is a significant positive outlier in English Language Arts (ELA), with 62.2% of students proficient in the 2025-2026 school year—nearly double the district average of 32.9% and well above the state average of 51.7%. However, it struggles profoundly in Mathematics, where only 18.7% of students are proficient, a rate that, while better than the district's 13.3%, falls far below the state average of 27.1%. This 43.5 percentage point gap between ELA and Math proficiency suggests a highly uneven academic program, with a strong literacy curriculum but a critical need for improvement in math instruction. The school also boasts a high graduation rate of 92.7% and a low dropout rate of 6.4%, both far outperforming the district averages of 71.7% and 20.8%, respectively. Yet, this success is contradicted by a chronic absenteeism rate of 51.7%, meaning over half of the students miss 10% or more of the school year, raising questions about how students meet graduation requirements while missing significant instruction.

The school's trajectory is remarkable. In just two years, its state ranking jumped from the 9th percentile (2023-2024) to the 68th percentile (2025-2026), earning it a 3-star rating. This dramatic turnaround suggests recent leadership or curriculum changes have been highly effective. With an enrollment of 1,087 students, a student-teacher ratio of 18.1:1, and spending of $18,832 per student, Paul Laurence Dunbar High consistently outperforms its district in nearly every metric, positioning it as a "bright spot" in a struggling district. However, it still lags behind state averages in math and absenteeism, making it a school with clear strengths in literacy and graduation outcomes but significant challenges in math and attendance.