MCPS Once Among the Best, Now 8th Grade Math Hits Last Place and Many Subjects Outside Top 5

October 14, 2024

Background

MCPS student proficiency on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) assessments was compared to other public school districts in Maryland for 2024 (the 2023-2024 school year). MCAP tests are administered in English Language Arts (ELA), Math, Science, and Social Studies.

According to the Maryland State Department of Education website https://support.mdassessments.com/, “The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) assessments of Maryland College and Career Ready Standards (MCCRS) will build a pathway to college and career readiness by the end of high school, mark students’ progress toward this goal from grade 3 through high school, and provide teachers with timely information to inform instruction and provide student support.”

Source Data

MCAP ELA and Math Performance Data, MCAP Science Performance Data, and MCAP Social Studies 8 Assessment Data files are found under Download Files 2024.

Results and Conclusions

MCPS State Rank

MCPS rank for percent of proficient students compared to other Maryland public school districts was compared for:

• Social Studies (Grade 8)
• Science (Grades 5, 8)
• ELA (Grades 3, 5, 8, 10)
• Math (Grades 3, 5, 8; Algebra 1)

MCPS’ best state rankings were Science Grade 5 (4^th) and Math Grade 5 (5^th).  The lowest ranking was Math Grade 8 (tied for 17^th place). MCPS ranked between 7^th and 9^th for 6 of the 11 subjects.

Social Studies Grade 8

MCPS is ranked 7^th in the state for Social Studies Grade 8 proficiency. 5,614 students were proficient. 6,133 students were not proficient.

Science Grade 5

MCPS is ranked 4^th in the state for Science Grade 5 proficiency. 3,668 students were proficient. 8,138 students were not proficient.

Science Grade 8

MCPS is ranked 8^th in the state for Science Grade 8 proficiency. 3,725 students were proficient. 8,071 students were not proficient.

ELA Grade 3

MCPS ranks 7^th in the state for English Language Arts (ELA) Grade 3 proficiency. 6,025 students were proficient. 4,942 students were not proficient.

ELA Grade 5

MCPS ranks 8^th in the state for ELA Grade 5 proficiency. 5,988 students were proficient. 5,538 students were not proficient.

ELA Grade 8

MCPS ranks 10^th in the state for ELA Grade 8 proficiency. 6,112 students were proficient. 5,485 students were not proficient.

ELA Grade 10

MCPS ranks 9^th in the state in ELA Grade 10 proficiency. 7,950 students were proficient. 5,076 students were not proficient.

Grade 3 Math

MCPS ranks 6^th in the state in Math Grade 3 proficiency. 5,720 students were proficient. 5,621 students were not proficient.

Grade 5 Math

MCPS ranks 5^th in the state in Math Grade 3 proficiency. 4,835 students were proficient. 7,005 students were not proficient.

Grade 8 Math

MCPS ranks 17^h in the state in Math Grade 8 proficiency.  There are 9 districts tied for 17^th place (i.e., 17^th through 25^th place is a tie for last place). Fewer than 5% of students were proficient in these districts.

Grade 8 Math by School

The possibility of the countywide data of <5% proficiency having an error was considered, since the number was so low.  Therefore, the individual school data was examined to check this. 30 of the 36 schools reporting data had fewer than 5% of students proficient in Grade 8 Math. The highest proficiency was 21.8% at Thomas W. Pyle Middle School.

In total, 49 of 4,522 students, or 0.1%, were proficient in Grade 8 Math. There are approximately 11,800 8^th graders with test scores reported in other subjects. Therefore, the subset of 4,522 students tested for Grade 8 Math proficiency may comprise the ~40% of 8^th graders who have not yet taken Algebra 1.

Algebra 1

MCPS ranks 9^th in the state in Algebra 1 proficiency. 3,348 students were proficient. 9,977 students were not proficient.

In summary, MCPS generally ranks in the top third to half of districts in the state. MCPS performed above the state average for proficiency in all subjects except Grade 8 Math.

MCPS compares to neighboring counties in the 11 subjects by:

• outperforming Prince George’s County in proficiency for 10 subjects and tying for 1 subject (Grade 8 Math)
• outperforming Frederick County in proficiency for 3 subjects (Science Grade 5, ELA Grade 10, Math Grade 5)
• outperforming Howard County in proficiency for 0 subjects

MCAP Demographics Report

Want to read more like this?

Take a look at our previous report on the 2023-2024 MCAP demographics rankings for MCPS.

MCPS Hispanic, Economically Disadvantaged Students in Bottom Half of State While Disabled, Black / African American Learners Shine – Latest Testing Results

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