27.7% of MCPS Sixth Graders Met the Fall MAP Math Benchmark, MCPS Data Show

Just over a quarter of Montgomery County Public Schools sixth graders, 27.7%, met the district’s fall benchmark on the MAP math test, according to a presentation prepared for the Montgomery County Board of Education’s Oct. 22 meeting. Among Hispanic/Latino sixth graders, 9.3% met the MAP math benchmark. Among sixth graders in the English Language Development (ELD) group, 1.4% did.

The MCPS presentation also reports a drop in MAP reading results over the summer. On a slide comparing spring fourth-grade results with this fall’s fifth graders, the share meeting the MAP reading benchmark went from 54.1% in spring 2026 to 50.4% this fall. The slide’s key takeaway reads: “The ‘Summer Slide’ is real.”

The posted deck is marked “Revised 2.” Notes on the BoardDocs agenda item say “The PowerPoint presentation has been revised” on Oct. 19 and “has an additional revision” on Oct. 20. The notes do not say what was changed.

What a MAP “benchmark” means

MAP Growth, from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), is an adaptive test that MCPS uses for reading in grades 4 through 9 and math in grades 6 through 9, according to the presentation. Younger students take DIBELS for reading (kindergarten through third grade) and mCLASS Math (kindergarten through fifth grade). None of these fall screeners is Maryland’s state test.

The MAP benchmark is a cut score MCPS set on NWEA’s RIT scale, and slide 8 of the deck explains how it was set: “2023 MCAP studies proved the 50th national percentile was insufficient for state proficiency. MCPS recalibrated RIT cut scores to target student likelihood of scoring Level 3 or higher.” The slide calls that Level 3 target the “MCAP Proficiency Anchor” and the “Current Board reporting standard.” MCAP is the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, the state test given through last spring.

The same slide notes that the state is shifting to a new test and lists “New linking study required.” The Maryland State Department of Education said in July that the new Maryland System of Testing Academic Readiness (MSTAR) “will start with third through eighth grades during the 2026-27 school year.”

Math: middle school results by student group

On fall MAP math, 27.7% of MCPS sixth graders, 38.3% of seventh graders and 51.2% of eighth graders met the benchmark. MCPS described the pattern as “Consistent growth from Grade 6 (27.7%) to Grade 8 (51.2%).” The three figures come from three different grades tested this fall, so they do not track the same students over time.

In a June 4 presentation to the board, MCPS reported that 32.7% of sixth graders met its MAP math score in fall 2025, down from 35.1% in fall 2024. The October deck does not compare fall 2026 with either year.

Among MCPS sixth graders, the share meeting the MAP math benchmark was 53.8% for Asian students, 45.5% for Two or More Races, 44.9% for White, 15.4% for Black/African American and 9.3% for Hispanic/Latino students. The rate was 9.8% for Economically Disadvantaged sixth graders, 5.9% for sixth graders with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and 1.4% for ELD sixth graders. For eighth grade, the deck says: “Substantial gaps remain for ELD (6.1%) and IEP (18.2%) student groups.”

On mCLASS Math, 51.9% of MCPS students in kindergarten through fifth grade were at or above benchmark, including 31.0% of Hispanic/Latino students. The deck calls these first-year results “an initial baseline.”

Reading: the “summer slide” and the early grades

On slide 9, the share meeting the MAP reading benchmark was 52.3% in fall 2025 (grade 4), 54.1% in spring 2026 (grade 4) and 50.4% this fall (grade 5), a change the slide labels “Cohort Change” and lists as “-3.7%.” The slide says “Reading proficiency benchmark scores dropped across every student group between Spring Grade 4 and Fall Grade 5.” From spring to fall, the slide lists drops of 3.3 points for Asian and Black/African American students, 3.4 for Hispanic/Latino, 4.1 for Two or More Races and 5.0 for White students. The deck does not say whether each column counts exactly the same students.

In kindergarten through third grade, 61.2% of MCPS students met the fall DIBELS benchmark (23,690 of 38,679). The rate was 42.1% for Hispanic/Latino students, 64.2% for Black/African American students and 73.9% for White students.

Separate context: last spring’s state test

MCAP is a different test from MAP, given in spring, and reports percent proficient rather than percent meeting an MCPS benchmark, so its figures are not directly comparable with the fall MAP percentages. MCPS did not compare the two in its presentation. In its July 28 release, MCPS reported that 36.9% of its students met proficiency across all 2025-26 MCAP math tests, up from 35.7%, and 58.5% in English language arts, up from 57%. MCPS said it was “proud to report two consecutive years of performance growth on MCAP assessments.”

What MCPS says it will do

The presentation describes a tiered response, from “High-quality foundational classroom instruction and core curriculum” for all students to “Intensive individualized support for specific learning needs” for a few. The deck’s support framework includes Focused Instructional Time (FIT), which the deck calls “Dedicated time blocks for personalized learning and acceleration.”

For families, the deck lists student profiles each semester and “At Risk Letters” each quarter. A template letter in the deck, dated Nov. 5, 2026, reads: “You are receiving this letter because we are concerned about your child’s progress.” The template has blanks for the student’s score and the minimum score needed to meet grade level.

Still unanswered

• What changed in the presentation in the Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 revisions?
• Does slide 9 follow exactly the same students in each column, or each term’s tested fourth or fifth graders?
• What are the MAP RIT cut scores for each grade, and does the fall cut score differ from the spring one?
• Did the grade 6 MAP math cut score change between fall 2025 and fall 2026?
• Does the “Fall 2025 Grade 4” column on slide 9 come from the same administration MCPS reported in June as “Grades 3 and 5”?
• When will MCPS link its MAP benchmarks to MSTAR?
• How many families will get the first “At Risk” letters?

We have not yet put these questions to MCPS; this story will be updated with any response.

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