Duncan and Grasmick joined Gov. Martin O'Malley, Mayor Sheila Dixon and others for an announcement that the city no longer needed "corrective action," a designation which means that a high percentage of its schools have not met federal standards, allowing the state to intervene in system governance.
Still, the pronouncement masked the fact the federal government requires greater signs of improvement before removing the label.
"What you are doing collectively here in Baltimore is absolutely remarkable," Duncan said. "This is a great, great day for the city of Baltimore, a great, great day for the state and for the country, but most important, for these children sitting here."
The education secretary said high expectations, talented educators and a sense of urgency contribute to creating schools like Abbottston, where "every single child is now successful."
The only decline in state scores came in fourth grade, where those passing dropped by 1.9 percentage points in reading.
Baltimore County schools spokeswoman Kara E.B. Calder - which also saw a decline in fourth-grade reading scores but gains in all other areas - said officials would examine score changes in all areas to look for patterns.
Improvement in middle schools have been much less impressive. This year, 71 percent of middle school students passed math examinations and 82 percent passed reading tests.
While Baltimore middle schoolers made larger gains than those in many other districts, only 39 percent of city eighth-graders passed the math test, and the city's students will have to improve rapidly to catch up with the rest of the state.
Alonso said he believes closing some of the lowest-performing middle schools and putting those students into the smaller, neighborhood elementary and middle schools has helped fuel progress. In addition, the system has given principals more autonomy, and the schools have gotten an infusion of cash over the past five years.
The test results, Alonso hopes, will give the school system a boost in morale. "This is a school system which has had a vision of itself as having deficits," he said.
He hopes that what he called a tendency for "self-laceration" will diminish. "It makes the unbelievable believable. ... We can look at the kids and say we are making a difference with them."
