Maryland exam shows slight increase in student performance, gaps among demographic groups

MARYLAND ( DC News Now ) — Test results from a Maryland school assessment revealed students are showing minor improvements in English and math but there’s still a gap between demographics.

The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) is a test for Maryland students in the third to eighth grade.

Although this is the second time students have taken the full test since the pandemic, results do show some counties are performing a lot better than others.

Overall there was a 3% increase in math and language arts for the 2023-2024 school year compared to the 2022-2023 school year.

In English language arts, Frederick County ranked 5th and Montgomery County 8th in the state.

Both Districts were well above the state average.

In math, Montgomery County ranked 4th and Frederick County 6th in the state.

Prince George’s County ranked below the state’s average but still saw improvements of two percentage points or more in both subjects.

The assessment results also showed a big disparity in proficiency rates when it comes to demographics, with Asian American students performing 10% or higher than White, Black and Hispanic students in math and English.

Many school districts recognized there was also an achievement gaps for students with special needs and multilingual learners.

The state created a list of ways they plan to help improve scores like more training for teachers, and even making changes to the curriculum standards.

They plan to take a deeper dive into the results in the coming weeks.

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