Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students scored higher than the state average on annual standardized tests, but the district’s data showed marginal improvements in reading and math proficiencies and decreases in science, according to scores from the spring testing.
“Everybody wants to see greater gains each year, but overall, we’re trending in the right direction,” Montgomery County school board President Karla Silvestre told MoCo360 on Wednesday. “We just need to accelerate it, so we see a faster pace of growth.”
Disparities in test scores among student demographics also continue to plague MCPS and the state, with Black and Hispanic/Latino students scoring lower than their white and Asian classmates, according to state data.
The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) is a test that measures the mastery of state content standards, according to the Maryland State Department of Education. The assessment is administered once a year to students in grades three through eight and once in a high schooler’s career for English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA) and math. Students are also tested once a year on science in grades three through five, grades six through eight and once in high school, according to the state education department.
During the 2023-2024 school year, 55.3% of all students demonstrated proficiency on the English Language Arts test – an increase of 0.9 percentage points in the score from the 2022-2023 school year, according to state data. For math, 33.4% demonstrated proficiency, just a 0.6 percentage point increase over the previous year’s score.
However, MCPS’s test scores for the 2023-2024 school year were higher than the state average for all school districts – almost 7 percentage points higher in English Language Arts and 9.3 percentage points higher in math, according to state data.
While there were slight increases for the state and MCPS in reading and math, according to state data, both saw decreases in science scores – primarily in fifth grade science. From 2022-2023 to 2022-2024, MCPS saw a 10.7 percentage point decrease in fifth grade science proficiency scores. Last school year, only 31.1% of grade five students achieved proficiency in science on MCAP tests.
While not as dramatic, eighth grade science scores also saw a 2.1 percentage point decrease.
In a press release, MCPS highlighted that math and English Language Arts scores in grades three through five were higher than the state average, although some scores such as ELA and math in third grade decreased by 2 to 3 percentage points. Most middle school and high school grades saw slight improvements in math and reading tests, the district said.
In a memo to the school board, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor commented on the results, noting that MCPS students outscored the state average.
"The results of the 2023-2024 MCAP demonstrates increases in performance compared to 2022-2023 in eight of the fourteen MCAP assessments administered in both [English Language Arts] and math,” he wrote.
Silvestre said the district has shifted to implement the science of reading -- an approach to teaching reading based on decades of research -- in the classroom and is hoping that it will continue to make an impact on students’ literacy.
“We’re very invested in the science of reading, so [we're] looking to see more gains because of the fidelity to implementation of our new curriculum,” Silvestre said. “We’ve also invested a lot in professional learning, and [we're pushing for] consistency across the system.“
MCAP testing is one of many factors that determines the state’s annual report card and star ratings for school districts. There are other tests that assess skills such as reading, including Measures of Academic Progress-Reading (MAP-R). Silvestre noted that MCAP is a state accountability measure, but the district looks at other measures to understand student achievement and understanding.
Students are placed into four categories based on their scores: level 1, beginning learner; level 2, developing learner; level 3, proficient learner; and level 4, distinguished learner. Students who fall into the level 3 and 4 categories meet or exceed grade level expectations and are proficient in the assessed content.
The Maryland State Board of Education reviewed MCAP data Aug. 27 after students took the test in the spring. In an Aug. 27 press release, the state board noted that there were only slight improvements in average proficiency scores in reading and math and decreases in science test scores.
Similarly to the state, MCPS reading and math scores for all grades increased by less than 1 percentage point, according to data from the state education department.
MCPS wasn’t alone in seeing decreases in its science scores -- all student groups and school districts across the state saw similar declines, according to the state education department.
In addition, MCPS students who identify as Black or Hispanic/Latino as well as students of multiple races scored less than white and Asian students on the ELA and math tests and in the fifth grade and eighth grade science testing, the data showed.
Black and Latino students often saw the biggest disparities: in ELA, 45.6% of Black and 32.1% of Latino students demonstrated proficiency compared to 78.5% of white and 78.7% of Asian students.
Black and Latino students also saw marginal increases in ELA between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years. Scores increased from 45% to 45.6% for Black students and from 31.8% to 32.1% for Latino students.
Byron Johns, co-founder of the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence, said the slow pace of improvement meant it would take “decades” for Black and brown youth to catch up to their classmates.
Silvestre noted the district has been looking at such school and systemwide disparities through its anti-racist work in the school system.
Other student populations, such as economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities, also achieved lower proficiency scores when compared to non-economically disadvantaged students and those without disabilities.
“We have high expectations for every student who comes through [MCPS],” Silvestre said. “If we believe it, it sets them on the right path.”