Schools
Area Schools Continue to Excel on State Tests
Some schools are also showing signs of improvement.
North County and Cockeysville schools are generally continuing to perform well, and even improve, on the Maryland School Assessment (MSA), according to test results released Wednesday by the state's Department of Education.
The MSA evaluates the reading and mathematics ability of elementary school students in third through fifth grades and middle school students in Maryland.
Baltimore County Public Schools officials are taking the long view when looking at the 2011 MSA scores, touting significant gains since 2003.
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The percentage of elementary school students who scored proficient or advanced in reading on the MSA grew from 67 percent in 2003 to 90 percent in 2011. For middle school students, the reading score grew from 60 percent in 2003 to 83 percent this year. In some cases, Baltimore County scores are higher than the state average.
“We’re closing the achievement gap,” said Renee Foose, deputy superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools. “Truly something is happening here.”
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Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, all students must be proficient in reading and math by 2014. In Maryland, schools administer the Maryland School Assessment tests in both reading and math in third through eighth grades.
In order to reach 100 percent proficiency, the number of students who improve must grow each year. Students are measured as a whole and as subgroups, which include race, special education, non-native English speakers and students who receive free and reduced price meals.
But score changes from 2010 to 2011 are less significant in Baltimore County, with scores in some reading and math increasing by only 1 or 2 percent, and in some cases staying the same or dropping slightly.
Those smaller changes are harder to assess, Foose said, as every year the number of students who need to pass grows.
“Our students are chasing a moving target,” she said.
Schools with students who don't improve enough each year, as a whole or in subgroups, will fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
Schools that fail to meet such progress are required to make changes to improve scores, which can include school restructuring or staff changes. Maryland has adjusted the penalties for AYP since 2007, after discovering that of the schools who fell short that year, 45 percent of them were due to a single subgroup.
Schools who enter AYP for one year will undergo an assessment of their performance, but will not face as serious consequences until after failing to make AYP four years in a row.
In Baltimore County, 23 schools—13 percent—failed to make AYP this year, a number similar to last year. Foose said this may change due to an error in state data that is also affecting other counties. By comparison, 12 percent of Montgomery County Public Schools failed to make AYP as well as 3 percent of Howard County Public Schools and 11 percent of Harford County Public Schools.
“We are always concerned when we have a school that doesn’t meet AYP,” Foose said. “It’s unfortunate that one or two students can cause an entire school not to meet AYP.”
In Maryland, test scores grew or stayed the same when compared to 2010, with at least 70 percent of students in every grade scoring proficient or advanced. Across Maryland, elementary school reading scores are almost at 90 percent proficient or advanced.
Check out the tables below to see how your child's school performed.
Subject
Reading* (%)
Math* (%)
Grade
3rd
4th 5th 3rd 4th 5th Fifth District ES
2011 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95
2010 ≥95 ≥95
≥95 ≥95
≥95
≥95
Jacksonville ES 2011 ≥95
≥95
≥95
94.1 ≥95 ≥95 2010 ≥95
≥95
≥95
≥95
≥95 94.2 Padonia International School 2011 89.5 ≥95 94.3 ≥95 ≥95 77.4 2010 ≥95 82 88.7 ≥95 84 83 Prettyboy ES 2011 ≥95
≥95 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 94.7 2010 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 Seventh District ES 2011 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95
≥95 ≥95 2010 94.1 ≥95 94.6 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 Sparks ES 2011 94.8 ≥95 ≥95 93 ≥95 90.9 2010 ≥95 94.1 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95 Warren ES 2011 92.6 ≥95 ≥95 ≥95
≥95 90.7 2010 86.6 93.3 ≥95 83.6 91.3 86.9
* Values indicate the percentage of students in each grade level performing at the proficient or advanced levels according to test scores
Subject
Reading* (%)
Math* (%)
Grade
6th
7th 8th 6th 7th 8th Cockeysville MS 2011
91.1
92.9
90.9 90.2
82.8
79.2
2010
90.5
85.5 91.3 86.8
78.4
84.8
Hereford MS 2011
≥95
93 ≥95 94.4 ≥95 ≥95
2010
93.4 93.8 93.5 92.4 94.4 92.2
* Values indicate the percentage of students in each grade level performing at the proficient or advanced levels according to test scores
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