About the test

The More Learning Less Testing Act of 2017 (Md. Ed. Art §7-203) required that the Maryland State Department of Education develop and implement a middle school grade band social studies assessment.

The MCAP Social Studies 8 assessment measures student knowledge of United States History from 1763 - 1890 as well as students’ ability to:

Evaluate the credibility of the sources by considering the authority, origin, type, context, and corroborative value of each source.
Identify credible, relevant information contained in the sources.
Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources.

In May 2022, all 8th grade students participated in a field test assessment. The first operational assessment will be administered beginning in May 2023. Scores for students taking the assessment will be issued later in 2023. Subsequent scores for students and schools will be issued each summer beginning in 2024. Score reports will provide feedback on student knowledge of United States History as well as support to grade band teams (grades 6-8) on student achievement in the social studies skills and processes assessed. This data will help to inform programmatic approaches to integrating the assessed skills throughout middle school social studies instruction.

For more information and frequently asked questions, please refer to the MSDE MCAP Social Studies, Grade 8 Assessment Site

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Curriculum and Assessment - Social Studies

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