Student performance on state tests is staying stagnant, with just under half of Maryland K-12 students passing reading exams and less than a quarter achieving math proficiency last spring.
Fifth and eighth graders did even worse on science exams, with the overall fifth grade proficiency rate dropping by 10 percentage points over a one-year period. Gaps also persist across content areas for low-income, multilingual, Black and Hispanic students – as well as those with disabilities.
For example, only 10% of multilingual students achieved proficiency in reading statewide. Less than 7% of students with disabilities passed in math.
Maryland education leaders presented results from the 2023-2024 school year at a board meeting Tuesday. The data comes as a statewide task force is in the process of reviewing how effective the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) is in measuring student achievement.
In a press conference last Friday, State Superintendent Carey Wright called the flat scores “a bit of a puzzle.”
“That's always concerning when you're not really seeing a major uptick,” she said. “Is this a function of the test, or is this a function of our standards?”
Baltimore City and Baltimore County districts are bucking the statewide trend with growth outpacing other counties, The Baltimore Banner reported. Algebra 1 proficiency rates in the county more than doubled over the past year.
And Baltimore City schools CEO Sonja Santelises said middle school reading proficiency significantly improved.
“This is really about consistent, substantive growth,” Santelises told WYPR. “We're not going to close the gap immediately, but I think what we see here is those investments in literacy are paying off across the board, and particularly in our secondary grades, so that's a big plus.”
Baltimore City schools shifted to the science of reading, which teaches literacy through phonics instead of memorization, years before state leaders adopted a resolution in January calling for use of the practice in all districts.
Now, Santelises said student reading proficiency hit its highest level in the city since 2015.
Maryland school board member Rachel McCusker said the state may have to wait longer to see results shift.
“I think it's really important for us to think about, and for the public to think about, the fact that completely overhauling reading for an entire state isn't something that happens in a day. It's not a sprint,” she said at Friday’s meeting. “And so the data may for a couple of years look stagnant, because we're just not there yet.”
Math scores urge more support, especially for later grades
Math scores remain consistently low across the state – especially as students progress through grade levels. While 40% of Maryland third graders passed their math tests, only 7% of eighth graders did the same.
In Baltimore County and Baltimore City, less than 5% of middle school test-takers who are Black, disabled, multilingual, or low-income passed. The same is true for Hispanic middle schoolers in Baltimore County – and only 5.4% passed in the city.
“We're in a state where math is low across the board,” Santelises said. “No, we're not satisfied with the rates where they are. So even though we are outpacing the state in rate of growth – and we're proud of that – what is also true is we have further to go.”
Baltimore City purchased new math instructional materials for this school year. Thirty-two schools will test them out.
“We found in our existing material that while the rigor was wonderful, there just weren't the opportunities for young people to practice to the point of being fluent and being able to apply over multiple problems,” Santelises said.
Wright said the state is also funneling more resources into math and reading this year. Each district has to submit a comprehensive math plan to align with the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future in September.
Expert review teams will be providing feedback on those drafts – and the already submitted local literacy plans. Wright also said there will be more math coaches in schools to help with instruction, and increased opportunities for teacher professional development.
“And we are reexamining our math pathways starting all the way back to kindergarten,” she said. “As you know, in the Blueprint, we're expecting all children to be college and career ready by the end of grade 10. So we need to make sure that our math pathways are such that we are preparing children starting in elementary school.”
Reexamining the exams
The state’s current contract with the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program is set to expire at the end of 2026 – which is why leaders established a task force to report on its effectiveness later this year.
This is only the third year that students have taken the MCAP test. The state used the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test from 2015 until 2019.
Santelises said she’s “hopeful, but cautious” about new assessment system talks.
“I think we have questions about what exactly does adaptive testing yield us, and is that really the right way to go?” she said. “But I am cautious, because I have been doing this work in Maryland, and this state loves to do radical rip-ups of assessments that then leave districts in a place where it takes us two to three years just to figure out what the new assessment is going for.”
The state doesn’t offer enough sample materials and prep questions to help teachers align their instruction with MCAP, Santelises said. So this year, Baltimore City district officials developed their own.
“And that's not what a high performing state does,” Santelises said. “We still have teachers who have to go to other state websites to get examples.”
Santelises said this lack of alignment is a “contributing factor” to Maryland’s fall in national rankings.
“Discussions we've had with Dr. Wright, I think, are pointing in the right direction,” she added. “Where the rubber hits the road, though, is in implementation, and we often stumble in implementation.”
