Public schools in the “Old Line State” are seeing some improvements, according to the State Department of Education’s annual Maryland School Report Card.
The scoring is based on a point system that calculates into a formula were schools earn between one and five stars. Elementary and middle schools earn points through four categories, which include academic achievement, academic progress, progress in English language proficiency and school quality and student success.
However, when it comes to high schools, two additional categories — readiness for postsecondary success and graduation rates — are thrown into the ratings mix.
According to the data from the 2023-24 school year, 41% of overall schools earned a four or five-star rating.
Deputy State Superintendent of accountability Geoff Sanderson said about 83% of schools earned three stars or more, and that about three-quarters of the state’s public schools maintained their star rating from the previous year.
Sanderson said 91 schools earned the highest rating of five stars, 75 of which were earned by elementary schools. The number of schools earning one or two stars, the lowest ratings, also saw a decline, according to the school official.
Sanderson acknowledged there is an encouraging sign among those schools who are seeing a change in their star ratings.
“We have approximately twice the rate of schools going up compared to schools going down,” he said.
Noting the number of schools that maintained their star rating, Maryland State Board of Education member Irma Johnson, asked, “Does that mean those schools are stagnant?”
Per board President Joshua Michael, even if a school sees a slight increase, say by five points, it would still wind up being granted three-star school status.
Commenting on the upward trajectory of a number of schools in the latest data, Michael pointed out “74% of our schools that were one stars last year improved and are no longer one-star schools.”
With questions raised about what steps were being taken to improve what would have been lower-performing schools, State Superintendent Carey Wright credited an increased focus on literacy and upcoming reforms for mathematics along with a focus on individual student performance.
“It’s got to be done student-by-student, it cannot be done by student group,” Wright said, referring to fostering improved student performance.
Wright said it doesn’t make sense to keep testing students, expecting improvements if changes aren’t being made to boost performance in between tests.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work with high-quality instructional materials,” Wright said.
Wright further added that the state is in the middle of making changes to standards in a number of subject areas, including in English language arts, math, social studies, science and health standards.
“All of that will then feed into our new assessment system,” she said.
WTOP reached out to Montgomery County Public Schools and the members of the Board of Education for comment. In a news release Tuesday, MCPS admitted that schools in its county fell “disappointingly flat,” adding that schools that earned three stars or higher had only reported an increase of 0.8%.
According to MCPS officials, 93% of schools earned three or more stars.
The release also indicated that of the 202 county schools evaluated, 50% had earned four or five-star ratings, exceeding the statewide rating of 41% in the same star rankings.
Interested parents can see how their county and their child’s school ranked online.
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