August 22, 2023 Staff and Community Update: New State MCAP Data Highlights Small Student Performance Gains
New State MCAP Data Highlights Small Student Performance Gains
Dear Team BCPS:
Today, Tuesday, August 22, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released final data from the 2023 administration of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, and science.
The MCAP provides critical information on the progress students and schools are making on state academic content standards as well as student progress toward graduation and career readiness.
Preliminary results were released last month and the data show that Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) students are making small gains in performance.
Highlights of Student Performance
- BCPS students in grades 3-5 maintained ELA proficiency in 2023, with a small 0.2 to 0.8 percent increase compared to 2022.
- BCPS students in grades 3-5 demonstrated a small 2.2 to 3.9 percent increase in Math proficiency in 2023 compared to 2022.
- BCPS students in grades 6-8 demonstrated a small 1.3 to 3.2 percent increase in ELA proficiency in 2023 compared to 2022.
- BCPS Algebra 1 students maintained proficiency in 2023, with a small 0.8 percent increase in compared to 2022.
- BCPS Geometry students demonstrated a small 1.5 percent increase in proficiency in 2023 compared to 2022.
While these small gains in student performance are encouraging, far too many of our students are still not meeting proficiency levels and we have significant performance gaps compared to the state.
|
2022 |
2023 |
| Assessment |
State |
BCPS |
State |
BCPS |
| English Language Arts 03 |
45.8 |
43.7 |
48.0 |
43.9 |
| English Language Arts 04 |
46.3 |
43.6 |
48.7 |
44.4 |
| English Language Arts 05 |
41.2 |
38.3 |
41.8 |
38.9 |
| English Language Arts 06 |
44.3 |
36.9 |
48.1 |
38.1 |
| English Language Arts 07 |
43.2 |
33.5 |
47.2 |
36.1 |
| English Language Arts 08 |
42.7 |
32.0 |
46.8 |
35.2 |
| English Language Arts 10 |
53.4 |
46.3 |
53.5 |
42.6 |
|
2022 |
2023 |
| Assessment |
State |
BCPS |
State |
BCPS |
| Mathematics 03 |
36.7 |
33.1 |
40.3 |
35.3 |
| Mathematics 04 |
28.2 |
26.6 |
32.2 |
29.2 |
| Mathematics 05 |
24.6 |
21.9 |
27.4 |
25.8 |
| Mathematics 06 |
18.2 |
14.0 |
18.9 |
13.8 |
| Mathematics 07 |
12.5 |
5.0 |
14.7 |
<= 5.0 |
| Mathematics 08 |
6.9 |
5.0 |
7.5 |
<= 5.0 |
| Algebra 1 |
14.4 |
6.6 |
17.2 |
7.4 |
| Geometry |
25.3 |
12.2 |
23.4 |
13.7 |
|
2022 |
2023 |
| Assessment |
State |
BCPS |
State |
BCPS |
| Science Grade 5 |
30.6 |
27.6 |
34.5 |
29.4 |
| Science Grade 8 |
35.4 |
28.3 |
26.4 |
21.3 |
We know more must be done to ensure our students are meeting or surpassing state expectations, and have the access, opportunity, and support they need to be successful.
This school year, we are—
- Utilizing data from diverse sources to guide each step of the school progress planning process and implementing initiatives for academic achievement.
- Re-evaluating our pacing guides (when and how teachers deliver the learning material) with assessment topics to ensure all students have an opportunity to learn and master the standards prior to the assessment.
- Providing after-school or Saturday academic programs for students.
- Ensuring an instructional focus on critical content areas, English Language Arts and mathematics, and the provision of special education and ESOL services.
- Providing professional development to teachers and school leaders to support implementation of curriculum and meaningful analysis of assessment data.
State assessments are just one of several important measures that help us monitor student progress and achievement and determine necessary supports for remediation and enrichment. We will continue to use multiple and frequent measures of students’ progress to determine if our schools are meeting the needs of all students. With strengthened emphasis on learning standards and ongoing assessments of learning, we are confident that we will see more significant rebounds in student performance in the coming years.
In Partnership,
Dr. Myriam Rogers (Yarbrough)