| November 29, 2000 |
Vol. 11, No. 14 |
Special
Edition: 2000 REPORT CARD |
M 19 of 24 Maryland Local School Systems
Improve Composite Scores Over Last Year
ta Schools and school systems in all areas of Maryland demonstrated that 11 years
of education reform is producing higher achievement as the statewide composite index of
the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program increased to a record 45.3 percent of
students at satisfactory on the 2000 MSPAP tests.
The state composite index increased 1.5 percentage points in 2000.
Nineteen of the state’s 24 local school systems increased their composite scores over
1999. Seventeen systems set new all-time composite index bests.
Maryland’s school reform program began in 1989 after the Governor’s
Commission on School Performance recommended improving the state’s educational
system. Statewide testing of third, fifth and eighth graders in six subject areas began in
1993.
"We have long remained confident that school reform was the right path for
Maryland’s children," said Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick. "We
still do not have all of the answers, and we are not yet satisfied. But the stories of
success around the state confirm that we continue to build one of the nation’s top
educational structures with a combination of hardworking and dedicated teachers and
administrators, high standards and an unmatched accountability system."
Kent County, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, gained 2.0 points on its MSPAP composite
score to increase its system composite to 62.0 percent, the top performance in the state
for the second straight year. Howard County gained 2.1 points to increase to 61.4 percent.
Baltimore City, the state’s lowest-performing system overall since testing began,
continued to show progress. The city posted an increase for the fourth consecutive year.
Its gain of 3.5 points was the largest in the system’s history.
Twelve school systems posted MSPAP composite index scores of 50 percent or higher, four
more than in 1999.
t WHERE WE STAND
MSPAP
Composite Scores By
School System: 1993-2000ewide
| School System |
1993 |
2000 |
Gain |
| Allegany |
26.5 |
47.4 |
20.9 |
| Anne Arundel |
36.6 |
47.5 |
10.9 |
| Baltimore City |
10.4 |
20.5 |
10.1 |
| Baltimore Co. |
34.9 |
50.9 |
16.0 |
| Calvert |
34.6 |
55.0 |
20.4 |
| Caroline |
25.1 |
49.8 |
24.7 |
| Carroll |
42.0 |
54.1 |
12.1 |
| Cecil |
32.4 |
51.5 |
19.1 |
| Charles |
30.1 |
46.7 |
16.6 |
| Dorchester |
21.0 |
42.7 |
21.7 |
| Frederick |
44.5 |
51.0 |
6.5 |
| Garrett |
35.6 |
48.2 |
12.6 |
| Harford |
38.4 |
55.7 |
17.3 |
| Howard |
48.7 |
61.4 |
12.7 |
| Kent |
32.6 |
62.0 |
29.4 |
| Montgomery |
46.4 |
55.4 |
9.0 |
| Prince George's |
21.5 |
31.0 |
9.5 |
| Queen Anne's |
34.4 |
50.8 |
16.4 |
| St. Mary's |
27.7 |
49.4 |
21.7 |
| Somerset |
25.3 |
38.7 |
13.4 |
| Talbot |
28.4 |
44.4 |
16.0 |
| Washington |
31.9 |
54.4 |
22.5 |
| Wicomico |
26.3 |
43.0 |
16.7 |
| Worcester |
25.3 |
50.2 |
24.9 |
Highlights: Raising the Level of Achievement
Across Maryland
The accomplishments of Maryland schools over the past year
contributed to major MSPAP achievements in 2000:
- Maryland has gained 13.6 percentage points on MSPAP composite since testing began in
1993. The first year composite was 31.7 percent at satisfactory. It was 45.3 percent this
year.
- 83 schools scored at least 70 percent satisfactory in 2000 on MSPAP. In 1993, only 11
schools met that standard.
- 12 systems (four more than 1999) had composite scores of at least 50 percent. Five
others are within 2.6 points of that mark.
- 21 of 24 school systems had 40 percent or more students at satisfactory. In 1993, only
four systems reached that figure.
- Queen Anne’s County, Washington County and Wicomico County are the only systems to
make gains in every year of the testing program.
- 58 of 93 (62 percent) schools on the reconstitution-eligible list improved over 1999.
‘As We Progressed in Our First Decade, We Also Planned
Ahead’
The first 10 years of education reform in Maryland were an aggressive pursuit of the
basic principle that all children can learn.
As the program developed, success stories from all geographic and demographic areas of
the state increasingly demonstrated the truth behind this principle. The 2000 results from
the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program showed significant gains from
low-achieving schools and from schools that had previously shown various degrees of
progress.
Following the contention of State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick that even
high-achieving schools must continue to progress, some of the historically top schools in
the state made additional major gains.
"When we established school reform, we sought to create a program that would
benefit all of the children of Maryland," said Dr. Grasmick. "Along the
way, we learned and we adapted. But we never wavered from our principles—or our high
standards. In every aspect, we looked toward the future. As we progressed in our first
decade, we also planned ahead for the next decade."
Some of the notable success stories of the past year:
Pimlico Elementary (Baltimore City) and Thomas S. Stone Elementary (Prince
George’s) became the second and third schools ever to be removed from the
state’s reconstitution-eligible list.
Dallas F. Nicholas Sr. Elementary (Baltimore City), which has 88 percent of
students receiving free or reduced-price meals, improved 19 composite percentage points
over last year. Its third-grade math score almost doubled (23.5 to 46.8).
Somerset County and Caroline County made particularly
remarkable system-wide gains of 7.5 and 7.4 percentage points, respectively, in composite
index in 2000.
Perryville Elementary (Cecil County), which has 25.2 percent of
students receiving free or reduced-price meals and 30.5 percent of students in special
education, has improved its composite by 38 percentage points since the first year of
MSPAP.
The two schools showing the most improvement over the past year are
Title I schools in Prince George’s County. Thomas S. Stone
Elementary improved 31.2 composite index percentage points (to 46.0 from 14.8 in
1999). Forest Heights Elementary improved 29.4 points (to 57.8 from 28.4 the
previous year).
Taking Note of the 2000 Maryland Report Card
Notable aspects of this year’s Maryland School Performance Report:
- Rock Hall Elementary
(Kent County) had the state’s highest composite score,
with 89.0 percent of students meeting satisfactory.
- Burleigh Manor Middle
(Howard County) had the highest scores in three of six
eighth-grade MSPAP content areas.
- Triadelphia Ridge Elementary
(Howard County), a two-year-old school, reached the
state excellent standard in all six fifth-grade content areas and five of the six
third-grade content areas.
- Montgomery County’s Cashell Elementary had the state’s highest
fifth-grade score in writing (83.1).
- Bloomington Elementary/Middle
(Garrett County) had 100 percent of students at
satisfactory in eighth-grade math.
Kent County is the only system to meet satisfactory standards (70 percent or higher)
in a content area. It met the standards in third-grade writing, mathematics, science,
language usage and social studies.
MSDE Bulletin
School & Community Outreach Office
Maryland State Department of Education
200 W. Baltimore Street Baltimore, MD 21201
Web site: www.msde.state.md.us
Ronald Peiffer Assistant State
Superintendent 410-767-0473
Neil Greenberger Editor
410-767-0486
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