Newark, MD, August 27, 2024– Today, the Maryland State Department of Education released statewide performance data with Worcester County Public Schools outperforming the majority of school systems in the State across content areas.
During the State Board of Education meeting, State Superintendent Dr. Carey Wright and staff provided an update on student performance on state assessments administered in spring 2024 in English/Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. Statewide, assessment results showed Maryland’s students experienced modest gains in both ELA and mathematics.
Across Maryland, In Worcester County, student performance on the spring ELA assessments topped all other school systems in Maryland with 69.4 percent of students scoring as proficient or higher, 21 percentage points above the state average of 48.4%, and nearly five percentage points above the next local education agency (LEA). (See Figure 1.) A particular highlight are Worcester County’s middle school aged students who tested in spring 2024. Countywide, sixth graders’ proficiency grew across all schools; Snow Hill Middle School’s (SHMS) seventh graders saw one of the strongest gains with a nearly 11 percentage point increase over the prior year.
Statewide, mathematics performance data saw a nominal gain over last year with 24.1 percent of Maryland’s students reaching proficiency across all tested areas. Worcester County topped the State by over 15 percentage points in mathematics with 39.3 percent of students reaching proficiency across all assessments and following Howard County by less than two percentage points. (See Figure 2.) All seventh graders in Worcester County experienced growth from last year’s proficiency levels with SHMS once again standing out with double digit gains, nearly 11 percentage points of growth over 2023. Stephen Decatur Middle School (SDMS) was the top middle school in the entire state of Maryland in the Math 08 assessment with nearly 56 percent of its eighth graders reaching proficiency. When examining eighth grade mathematics holistically at SDMS, between the MAT 08 and Algebra I assessments, 62 percent of all eighth graders reached proficiency.
“Today’s results are a testament to the hard work of our students and the unwavering dedication of our teachers, educational support staff, and leaders,” Superintendent of Schools Lou Taylor said. “It is certainly validating that our scores are consistently leading the State. Our collective efforts are making an impact, and I hope our community is proud to see this positive progress for our students.”
Figure 1 - Source: https://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Pages/meeting-agendas/2024/0827/2024-08-27.aspx
Figure 2 - Source: https://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Pages/meeting-agendas/2024/0827/2024-08-27.aspx
The State Department of Education changed its reporting methodology for today’s presentation. In prior years, data was banded by grade level and high school courses were reported singularly for both ELA and mathematics. Applying the previous reporting methodology, Worcester County Public Schools led the State in ELA as well as in mathematics for grades 3 – 8.
The full presentation of statewide scores can be viewed as a part of the State Board of Education’s livestream at https://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Pages/meeting-agendas/2024/0827/2024-08-27.aspx. The source material for the images used above is found under the agenda item entitled “Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) 2023-2024 Results” located on the same webpage.