MCPS Math Scores Rise, but Lag Behind Pre-Pandemic Levels – 2022 Proficiency Update

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Mathematics Proficiency – Update

Executive Summary

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) requires standardized tests to measure proficiency in math. Previous reports on www.moderatelymoco.com were updated to include new 2022 data.

Additionally, MCPS math proficiency in 2022 was compared to other Maryland districts.

Background and Source Data

The MSDE defines the test scores that are considered to indicate proficiency. The MSDE provides data for standardized test results for all Maryland public school districts. Data are presented by year, subject, school district, individual school, and demographic groups.

Sources for MSDE data are:

  1. 2022: Excel format 2022 data
  2. 2021: Excel format  2021 data 
  3. 2018-2019: Excel format 2018-2019 data download
  4. 2018-2019: searchable format by individual school 2018-2019 searchable data

The MSDE data have a few considerations. Asterisks, <5%, or >95% are sometimes provided in the data. It appears this may be due to preserving anonymity of students in cases of small numbers. PARCC tests were administered from 2015 to 2019, but they appear to be referred to as MCAP in some of the MSDE data. No testing was done in 2020. A shortened version of the MCAP test that replaced PARCC was administered in Fall 2021.

Results and Conclusions

Percent Proficiency Grade 3 Mathematics

The percent of students with scores in the proficient range were compared by individual school and by year.

Table 1. Percent proficient students in Grade 3 math by school and year. Percent of proficient students is indicated by green (75 to 100%), yellow (50 to <75%), orange (25 to <50%), red (0 to <25%), and gray (fewer that 5% tested/reported, *, or blank in state data).

Most schools showed improved proficiency in 2022 as compared to 2021 (6 had decreases). The MCPS average proficiency, as well as the proficiency at some schools surpassed the previous high in 2019.  Westover and Woodfield had the largest increases (40.0 to 82.9%; 32.5 to 78.0%, respectively).

Percent Proficiency Middle School Algebra 1

The percent of students with scores in the proficient range were compared by individual school and by year.

Table 2. Percent proficient students in Middle School Algebra 1 by school and year. Percent of proficient students is indicated by green (75 to 100%), yellow (50 to <75%), orange (25 to <50%), red (0 to <25%), and gray (fewer that 5% tested/reported, *, or blank in state data).  Col. E. Brooke Lee Middle is named Odessa Shannon Middle in 2022.

The overall average proficiency for MCPS middle schools was 28.6% in 2022. This is an improvement over the 13.8% in 2021, but it is below the high of 63.0% in 2016.  All schools showed an increase in proficiency in 2022. The largest increase was at Tilden (9.8% to 50.4%).  Eastern, Poole, North Bethesda, Takoma Park, and Pyle had large increases, with over 30% more students proficient.

Most schools showed lower proficiency in 2022 than in 2019.  Only Montgomery Village showed an increase (8.6% in 2019 to 9.8% in 2022).  The schools with the largest differences in proficiency between 2019 and 2022 are Hoover (82.0 vs. 36.4%), Rocky Hill (59.5 vs. 17.2%), Rosa Parks (79.8 vs. 22.5%), and Westland (91.0 vs. 46.8%).

Percent Proficiency Middle School Geometry

The percent of students with scores in the proficient range were compared by individual school and by year.

Table 3. Percent proficient students in Middle School Geometry by school and year. Percent of proficient students is indicated by green (75 to 100%), yellow (50 to <75%), orange (25 to <50%), red (0 to <25%), and gray (fewer that 5% tested/reported, *, or blank in state data). Col. E. Brooke Lee Middle is named Odessa Shannon Middle in 2022.

The overall proficiency in MCPS middle schools in 2022 was 37.9%.  This is an improvement over 2021 (22.7 vs. 37.9%), but it is below the high of 85.4% in 2018. Most schools showed improved proficiency in 2022 as compared to 2021 (4 had small decreases). The largest increases from 2021 to 2022 were at Eastern (36.9 vs.77.1%) and Westland (26.3 vs. 71.8%).

All schools reporting data showed decreased proficiency in 2022 compared to 2019. The largest decreases from 2019 compared to 2022 are at Shady Grove (92.7 vs. 16.0%), John T. Baker (91.3 vs. 18.7%), and Neelsville (83.3 vs. 10.9%).  The smallest decreases from 2019 compared to 2022 are at Eastern (91.9 vs. 77.1%) and Martin Luther King (64.3 vs. 48.4%).

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MCPS vs. Maryland Districts

MCPS proficiency for Grade 3 Mathematics, Algebra 1, and Geometry was compared to other public school districts in Maryland for 2022.

Grade 3 Mathematics

The average Maryland proficiency in Grade 3 Mathematics in 2022 is 37.3%.  MCPS ranks 6th in the state with 51.2% proficiency.

Table 4. Grade 3 Mathematics proficiency in Maryland public schools by county for 2022.

Algebra 1

The average Maryland proficiency in Algebra 1 in 2022 is 16.4%.  MCPS ranks 5th in the state with 20.4% proficiency.

Table 5. Algebra 1 proficiency in Maryland public schools by county for 2022.

Geometry

The average Maryland proficiency in Geometry in 2022 is 35.4%.  MCPS ranks 6th in the state with 44.2% proficiency.

Table 6. Algebra 1 proficiency in Maryland public schools by county for 2022.

Note that for the county district data reported to the state, some districts had lower numbers of students tested than anticipated.  For example, MCPS reported 12,530 students for Algebra 1 and 4,355 students for Geometry. Wicomico schools reported 1,313 students for Algebra 1 and 18 students for Geometry. Baltimore City reported 6,228 students for Algebra 1 and 49 students for Geometry.

See the rest of our series on MCPS Test Score Data:

MCPS Test Score Data (Through 2021) Compilation & Analysis

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