New Maryland test scores for English, math show little change across schools

Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program standardized test results from spring 2024 reflected little overall improvement in English language arts and math, according to data released Tuesday by the Maryland State Department of Education.

The percentage of MCAP English and math test takers scoring proficient each rose by less than a percentage point. About 48.4% of students scored proficient in English language arts, and 24.1% scored proficient in math.

Though scores were flat overall, there were some shifts among districts, including Baltimore City improving math scores to no longer be the lowest-ranked system in that subject.

This installment marked the third time the full MCAP was administered. Test scores from the 2022-23 school year reflected improvement in both English and math by over two percentage points .

Given annually to third through eighth graders as well as to high schoolers, who take Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry and 10th grade English assessments, the MCAP math and English language arts tests provide a statewide snapshot of the academic progress of Maryland public school students. Science exams are administered at only two grade levels. While the state did not release detailed data for science, officials reported a 10 percentage point decline among fifth graders, with 23.9% proficient, and a 1.5 percentage decline among eighth graders, with 24.9% proficient.

Statewide, proficiency rates rose the most for Algebra I and II, growing by 2.8 and 3.4 percentage points, respectively. English proficiency among fifth graders had the third-highest growth, at 2.4 percentage points. The biggest declines were seen in third grade English and in geometry, where proficiency rates each fell by more than a percentage point.

The new results come as several state initiatives roll out to improve performance, including a new approach to teaching reading. A $6.8 million grant will be used to teach educators the research-backed " science of reading " method, which focuses on phonics, understanding syllables and comprehending words' meanings.

Reading and accountability have been early focuses of state Superintendent Carey Wright, who was appointed to the position in April after holding the role on an interim basis since October. Wright is widely credited for dramatically improving math and literacy test scores when she led Mississippi's education department.

One of Wright's first actions as Maryland superintendent was to create a task force to evaluate the state's Maryland Report Card, which rates every school on a five-star scale. Wright expressed skepticism of a system that gives more than three-quarters of schools three or more stars when less than a quarter of students score proficient in math and less than half in English. The report card takes into account MCAP scores in addition to other metrics including graduation rates, attendance and surveys.

ELA proficiency generally held steady among student subgroups, according to an education department news release, while no groups saw declines in math proficiency. Achievement gaps persisted in both subjects for multilingual and economically disadvantaged students as well as students with disabilities.

The MCAP scores were presented to the board ahead of updates and public comment on a literacy policy proposed by Wright in July that would hold back third graders who can’t read on grade level. Board members greeted the proposal with skepticism and the possibility of letting parents waive a decision to retain a student was to be a topic of Tuesday's hearing.

The MCAP took the place of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which was last taken in the 2018-19 academic year. Despite the flat numbers released Tuesday, state school board members approved goals that seek 5 percentage point annual improvements each of the next two years for third grade English, fifth grade math and for the combined scores for grades 3-8 in each subject.

How proficiency rates changed in the Baltimore area

All six jurisdictions in the Baltimore area saw little improvement in proficiency — between 0.2 and 2 percentage points — across all grade levels in English and math from the year before. The area's biggest improvements were in Anne Arundel County, at 2 points for English and 1.8 points for math.

While emphasizing that "we have a lot of work to do," Anne Arundel Superintendent Mark Bedell said that the district has been changing how elementary schoolers are taught, starting an approach focusing on the foundations of math last school year and beginning a science of reading curriculum this year. Baltimore County officials also pointed to new English language arts and math curricula as well as a new curriculum for multilingual learners.

Officials with Baltimore City and Harford and Howard counties did not immediately respond with comments about their districts' data.

Harford County schools saw the smallest change from the year prior for math, increasing 0.2 percentage points, and Carroll County for English, increasing 0.3 points.

While Baltimore City continued to have the lowest proficiency ratings in both subjects among area jurisdictions, the city now has more than 10% of students scoring proficient in math — an improvement that cedes the state's lowest ranking in the subject to Somerset County. For English, the city also improved slightly, to 27.7%.

Looking individually at the six grade-level math tests, the two algebra tests and one geometry test, math performance in the Baltimore region mostly held steady or improved. Carroll County saw the most notable increase — a 9.6 percentage point increase for Algebra I test takers.

Baltimore City's proficiency rates for eighth-grade math and Algebra II remained below 5%, but Algebra I rose 2.4 percentage points to 8.8%.

English scores followed a similar trend with most Baltimore-area districts improving on most tests. The biggest jump was fifth grade English in Harford County, where the proficiency rate rose 8.2 percentage points. Harford also had the biggest decline in English language arts, with the 10th-grade proficiency rate falling 5.4 percentage points.

Staff reporters Bridget Byrne, Thomas Goodwin Smith and Matt Hubbard contributed to this article.