Local Schools Fare Well on State Tests

Baltimore County Public Schools officials are taking the long view when looking at the 2011 Maryland School Assessment (MSA) scores, touting significant gains since 2003.

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.”

Principal Amy Grabner said her school is among those closing the achievement gap.

At Essex Elementary, the percentage of students who scored proficient or advanced in reading in 2011 reached 97 percent in fourth and fifth grades and 92 percent for those in third grade. The same was true for 95 percent of fourth graders, 87 percent of third graders and 81 percent of fifth graders in math.

In 2010, the percentage of students who scored proficient or advanced in reading at Essex Elementary reached 91 percent for third graders, 90 percent for fourth graders and 96 percent for fifth graders. The same was true for 94 percent of third graders, 92 percent of fourth graders and 87 percent of fifth graders.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, but overall I’m please with our scores,” Grabner said. “Our teachers are willing to do what it takes to work extra with our students. What makes our scores even more impressive is that 50 percent of our students receive free or reduced lunches, which is double from when I started here 10 years ago.”

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 one or two 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).

If a school fails to meet AYP, they 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.

For a complete breakdown on how your school fared, go to mdreportcard.org