The proficiency rates of Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) students on the most recent administration of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) assessments rose for the second straight year, increasing in 13 of 14 tested areas in English Language Arts (ELA) and math, according to data presented to the Maryland State Board of Education today. The lone decrease came in third grade ELA, where scores dropped by 0.68 percentage points.
AACPS saw increases of between 0.6 and 3.6 percentage points on the ELA assessments and 0.5 and 3 percentage points on the math assessments. The ELA results also show significant reductions in proficiency gaps, particularly with regard to African-American students when compared to all students. In that category, gaps were reduced by 1.2 percentage points at the elementary level, 2.1 percentage points at the middle school level, and 2.3 percentage points at the high school level.
“I want to be very clear that we have a lot of work to do to improve these scores,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell said. “However, this is the second consecutive year in which our scores have increased and we are closing gaps in several areas and that is a tribute to the incredible work of our teachers, administrators, support staff, and everyone across our school system. The results show that our work to help every student belong, grow, and succeed is moving in the right direction. We can’t get where we want to go without taking steps forward and this data represents significant steps forward.”
Students take MCAP assessments in English Language Arts in grades 3 through 8 and Grade 10, and take math assessments in grades 3 through 8 and when enrolled in Algebra I.
At all three levels on the ELA assessment, the percentage of AACPS students achieving proficiency outpaced the state average when compared to the previous year. The biggest difference came at the high school level, where the proficiency rate for English 10 was 63.2 percent compared to the state average of 55.3 percent. At the elementary level, the AACPS rate of 52.3 percent was 5.6 percentage points better than the state average, and at the middle level, the rate of 52.2 percent was 4.6 percentage points above the state average.
The same was true in math, where AACPS proficiency rates outpaced the state average at all three levels when compared to the previous year. The biggest difference in math came at the middle level, where the proficiency rate was 19.4 percent compared to the state average of 14.9 percent. In Algebra I, the AACPS rate of 30.3 percent was 10.3 percentage points better than the state average, and at the elementary level, the rate of 34.0 percent was 0.2 percentage points above the state average.
Last year was the first for the school system’s new math curriculum, Reveal, which was implemented at the elementary level with the goal to provide a more sound mathematical foundation for students as they move toward middle and high school. This school year, AACPS is implementing the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) literacy curriculum, which focuses on the Science of Reading, at the elementary level.
“I believe Reveal has had – and will continue to have – a positive impact for our students in math and I expect CKLA will have a similar impact in English Language Arts,” Dr. Bedell said. “Our teachers and instructional teams are relentless in their pursuit to help every student we serve achieve and to simultaneously close gaps. We will continue to help them deliver instruction that produces the results we all want.”
The State Board of Education today was also presented with MCAP scores for the Maryland Integrated Science Assessments, which is administered to students in grades 5 and 8. While AACPS’ proficiency rate of 30 percent outpaced the state, scores for county students – as was the case across Maryland – dropped in nearly every student group.
“We are looking very closely at the fifth-grade science data and at the assessment to determine where the issue lies, including whether there is a misalignment between the assessment and science curriculum in Maryland,” Dr. Bedell said.
A summary of results can be found here.