Only 57% of MCPS students proficient in reading, 36% proficient in math

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the denominator?

For example, if they are only reporting Math proficiency for those on-level, and leaving out accelerated students, they'd be leaving out the bulk of students by Algebra (a majority in MCPS take that before 9th grade, which is on-level from the state perspective), likely under-reporting proficiency by a considerable amount, as those more Math-capable students almost certainly would show higher rates of proficiency.

What is the racial breakdown by receiving services (FARMS, EML, IEP, 504) vs. not? Does the racial disparity close considerably when viewed that way?

If reported, would these and other, more nuanced analyses support a different narrative, with then-different approaches to solutions, than those we tend to see being pushed?

You can explore all of this at the district and school level on the Maryland Report Card site: https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/

Pick your county and then your school and then drill down into the MCAP tab and you can disaggregate the data in all the ways you asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the denominator?

For example, if they are only reporting Math proficiency for those on-level, and leaving out accelerated students, they'd be leaving out the bulk of students by Algebra (a majority in MCPS take that before 9th grade, which is on-level from the state perspective), likely under-reporting proficiency by a considerable amount, as those more Math-capable students almost certainly would show higher rates of proficiency.

What is the racial breakdown by receiving services (FARMS, EML, IEP, 504) vs. not? Does the racial disparity close considerably when viewed that way?

If reported, would these and other, more nuanced analyses support a different narrative, with then-different approaches to solutions, than those we tend to see being pushed?

You can explore all of this at the district and school level on the Maryland Report Card site: https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/

Pick your county and then your school and then drill down into the MCAP tab and you can disaggregate the data in all the ways you asked.

Any news on when parents will get their kid's individual MCAP scores?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the denominator?

For example, if they are only reporting Math proficiency for those on-level, and leaving out accelerated students, they'd be leaving out the bulk of students by Algebra (a majority in MCPS take that before 9th grade, which is on-level from the state perspective), likely under-reporting proficiency by a considerable amount, as those more Math-capable students almost certainly would show higher rates of proficiency.

What is the racial breakdown by receiving services (FARMS, EML, IEP, 504) vs. not? Does the racial disparity close considerably when viewed that way?

If reported, would these and other, more nuanced analyses support a different narrative, with then-different approaches to solutions, than those we tend to see being pushed?

You can explore all of this at the district and school level on the Maryland Report Card site: https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/

Pick your county and then your school and then drill down into the MCAP tab and you can disaggregate the data in all the ways you asked.

Any news on when parents will get their kid's individual MCAP scores?

According to the state school board, it should be mid-September.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/27/state-test-scores-mcps-gains-reading-math-science/

Students at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) scored higher than the state average on annual standardized tests during the 2024-2025 school year, but scores show only 57% of MCPS students are proficient in English Language Arts and 35.7% are proficient in math, according to data provided by the Maryland State Department of Education on Tuesday.

Still, MCPS students showed some improvements in reading, math and science proficiencies, according to the data.

“This is important growth for our students,” MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor said in a Tuesday statement. “I believe that these results show that we are turning the corner and moving in the right direction. However, we still have much work to do to get to where we need to be.”

Disparities in test scores among student demographics also continue to plague MCPS and the state, with Black and Hispanic/Latino students scoring lower than their white and Asian classmates, according to state data.

This is embarrassing. How is it that MCPS is ok with graduating students with these low levels of proficiency?

Not just okay with it ... MCPS touted the results as good in its press release!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/27/state-test-scores-mcps-gains-reading-math-science/

Students at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) scored higher than the state average on annual standardized tests during the 2024-2025 school year, but scores show only 57% of MCPS students are proficient in English Language Arts and 35.7% are proficient in math, according to data provided by the Maryland State Department of Education on Tuesday.

Still, MCPS students showed some improvements in reading, math and science proficiencies, according to the data.

“This is important growth for our students,” MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor said in a Tuesday statement. “I believe that these results show that we are turning the corner and moving in the right direction. However, we still have much work to do to get to where we need to be.”

Disparities in test scores among student demographics also continue to plague MCPS and the state, with Black and Hispanic/Latino students scoring lower than their white and Asian classmates, according to state data.

This is embarrassing. How is it that MCPS is ok with graduating students with these low levels of proficiency?

Not just okay with it ... MCPS touted the results as good in its press release!

"We're headed in the right direction!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh so these are the MCAP scores from April. So does this mean that parents will get them soon, or will we have to wait a year again?

They have electronic access to the individual score reports now. Call the testing & reporting unit to ask for it if you want it now. Otherwise I"m sure you'll be waiting until 2026.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/directory/directory_Boxoffice.aspx?processlevel=62501

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher in another district in MD, not MCPS. These scores are worth an applause. Please understand where we started. We can not expect scores to go from 0 to 100 in a year. MCPS is trending upwards. That is a good sign. What they are doing is working. It will take many years to see the true outcome, not just one year. Yes there are still things that need to be tweaked. CHROMEBOOKS WERE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING. We have been back in the classroom for a couple years now. Why do we still have chromebooks? Students have tech class, so yes they will still understand the basics of computer operations. Everything is on the chromebooks now. The live teacher led lesson? Smart board and videos. Group work? Use the chromebooks. Test? On the chromebook. Interventions and services? On the computer. It is crazy. We no longer allow our students to think, problem solve, work with one another. Students do not need basic foundational skills in math or reading if they are being given a device. I will say it again, as I always do on this board. Show up and show out to remove the technology from the classrooms. You and I learned without computers yet we still know how to use technology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher in another district in MD, not MCPS. These scores are worth an applause. Please understand where we started. We can not expect scores to go from 0 to 100 in a year. MCPS is trending upwards. That is a good sign. What they are doing is working. It will take many years to see the true outcome, not just one year. Yes there are still things that need to be tweaked. CHROMEBOOKS WERE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING. We have been back in the classroom for a couple years now. Why do we still have chromebooks? Students have tech class, so yes they will still understand the basics of computer operations. Everything is on the chromebooks now. The live teacher led lesson? Smart board and videos. Group work? Use the chromebooks. Test? On the chromebook. Interventions and services? On the computer. It is crazy. We no longer allow our students to think, problem solve, work with one another. Students do not need basic foundational skills in math or reading if they are being given a device. I will say it again, as I always do on this board. Show up and show out to remove the technology from the classrooms. You and I learned without computers yet we still know how to use technology.

Low proficiency levels in math and literacy in MCPS precede the pandemic though.

As educators, you all have to hold the system accountable for its failures and stop saying it was the pandemic. The reality is, MCPS has been passing kids along who can't read and do math at high levels for at least the past decade.

[Anonymous]

My oh my how MCPS has fallen. It was once the school system in the country now it's just average at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/27/state-test-scores-mcps-gains-reading-math-science/

Students at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) scored higher than the state average on annual standardized tests during the 2024-2025 school year, but scores show only 57% of MCPS students are proficient in English Language Arts and 35.7% are proficient in math, according to data provided by the Maryland State Department of Education on Tuesday.

Still, MCPS students showed some improvements in reading, math and science proficiencies, according to the data.

“This is important growth for our students,” MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor said in a Tuesday statement. “I believe that these results show that we are turning the corner and moving in the right direction. However, we still have much work to do to get to where we need to be.”

Disparities in test scores among student demographics also continue to plague MCPS and the state, with Black and Hispanic/Latino students scoring lower than their white and Asian classmates, according to state data.

This is embarrassing. How is it that MCPS is ok with graduating students with these low levels of proficiency?

Not just okay with it ... MCPS touted the results as good in its press release!

"We're headed in the right direction!"

Wow Chris Cram, when more than half your kids are failing math, that takes chutzpah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh so these are the MCAP scores from April. So does this mean that parents will get them soon, or will we have to wait a year again?

They have electronic access to the individual score reports now. Call the testing & reporting unit to ask for it if you want it now. Otherwise I"m sure you'll be waiting until 2026.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/directory/directory_Boxoffice.aspx?processlevel=62501

Why can't they just post them on ParentVue the way they do with MAP scores?

[Anonymous]

Here's a link to the presentation on the MCAP results given to the Maryland State Board of Ed: https://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Documents/2024/0827/Maryland-Comprehensive-Assessment-Program-2023-2024-A.pdf

[Anonymous]

Curious if teachers (and parents) feel like MCAP "proficient" scores actually align with what you would consider proficiency? How often are there students who score a 2 who you feel like have a solid grasp of the material? Do the cutoff scores for proficiency seem too stringent or are they about right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the denominator?

For example, if they are only reporting Math proficiency for those on-level, and leaving out accelerated students, they'd be leaving out the bulk of students by Algebra (a majority in MCPS take that before 9th grade, which is on-level from the state perspective), likely under-reporting proficiency by a considerable amount, as those more Math-capable students almost certainly would show higher rates of proficiency.

What is the racial breakdown by receiving services (FARMS, EML, IEP, 504) vs. not? Does the racial disparity close considerably when viewed that way?

If reported, would these and other, more nuanced analyses support a different narrative, with then-different approaches to solutions, than those we tend to see being pushed?

You can explore all of this at the district and school level on the Maryland Report Card site: https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/

Pick your county and then your school and then drill down into the MCAP tab and you can disaggregate the data in all the ways you asked.

They don't have the new data. Only the 2023-2024 data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the denominator?

For example, if they are only reporting Math proficiency for those on-level, and leaving out accelerated students, they'd be leaving out the bulk of students by Algebra (a majority in MCPS take that before 9th grade, which is on-level from the state perspective), likely under-reporting proficiency by a considerable amount, as those more Math-capable students almost certainly would show higher rates of proficiency.

What is the racial breakdown by receiving services (FARMS, EML, IEP, 504) vs. not? Does the racial disparity close considerably when viewed that way?

If reported, would these and other, more nuanced analyses support a different narrative, with then-different approaches to solutions, than those we tend to see being pushed?

You can explore all of this at the district and school level on the Maryland Report Card site: https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/

Pick your county and then your school and then drill down into the MCAP tab and you can disaggregate the data in all the ways you asked.

They don't have the new data. Only the 2023-2024 data.

I don't know what you're talking about. I'm looking at the 2025 data.

Year: 2025, Assessment Types: ELA 3, Gender: All Students, Special Services: All Students, Race and Ethnicity: All Students