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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid did terrible at the MCAP. Just average scores. She is however 99th on MAP-R. Testing and knowledge are two different things.

Oh interesting. I wonder how common this is? Not this exact disparity (99th percentile MAP kid scoring low on MCAP) but just in general kids being rated as "not proficient" on MCAP despite actually being proficient...

Teachers and administrators have raised concerns about MCAP specifically for a long time. My 99th percentile kid did very well on MCAP for two years, then tanked it one year. What was different? Not the ability (MAP scores remained consistent), and not the effort (my kid is a Hermione Granger type who would die before purposefully throwing a test). Just...a bad day. Maybe she was coming down with something. Maybe she forgot to eat lunch. I have no idea, but it ultimately meant nothing.

It’s hilarious how whenever the test scores are bad, school system defenders will insist there’s something wrong with the test and not the school system. And yet, when the scores are good, the system has no qualms about using them as evidence to crow about how great the system is.

You have no idea of what you're talking about.
MCAP started in 2021 and no school district in MD has done great on it since it started. There have been improvements but no district has done great. No school district has used MCAP as evidence to crow about how great they are. None.
It a bad assessment test. Schools administrators don't like it and students don't care about it. That's why the State had to make it a graduation requirement.
The new state superintendent was supposed to take a review of the MCAP.

You keep talking about MCAP.

My criticisms about the system outcomes are not relegated to just this instance of MCAP. It's talking about the ongoing pattern of decreased proficiencies on a MULTITUDE of assessments including:
- MCAP
- PARCC
- MSA
- EOL
- SAT/ACT scores
- AP/IB scores

Here's a throwback to MCPS's PARCC results from in Sept 2018: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2018/18.09.13%202018%20Final%20PARCC%20Student%20Results.pdf

From 2018: https://wtop.com/maryland/2018/08/2018-parcc-scores-top-scoring-maryland-school-systems/

51% of MCPS 3-8 students demonstrated proficiency in ELA standards. 44% of MCPS 3-8 students demonstrated proficiency in math standards.

As I stated: The proficiency problems in MCPS PRECEDE MCAP. Blaming the test does not work because the proficiency levels weren't great on state-tests that preceded MCAP and they've continued to NOT be great systemwide for external tests such as SAT/ACT and AP/IB scores.

Pull your head out of the sand and stop blame shifting. MCPS has long had an instructional quality problem.

[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?

But apparently they are “turning the corner” still. They’ve been turning last 10+ years!!

They have declined in every one of the last 10 years. This is the first non-decline year in a decade. Is it still low? Yes. Should we be glad the decline seems to have stopped? Yes. Two things can be true. And kudos to Thomas Taylor - this system was damaged by Jack Smith, Monifa McKnight, and Monique Felder and he is trying to put pieces back together. This is not a huge win, but it is a win.

[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?

But apparently they are “turning the corner” still. They’ve been turning last 10+ years!!

They have declined in every one of the last 10 years. This is the first non-decline year in a decade. Is it still low? Yes. Should we be glad the decline seems to have stopped? Yes. Two things can be true. And kudos to Thomas Taylor - this system was damaged by Jack Smith, Monifa McKnight, and Monique Felder and he is trying to put pieces back together. This is not a huge win, but it is a win.

So that’s like “let’s celebrate since we finally reached the bottom!” thing? That’s so sad but I think MCPS has a lot more to give (aka nowhere near the bottom yet)!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

But apparently they are “turning the corner” still. They’ve been turning last 10+ years!!

They have declined in every one of the last 10 years. This is the first non-decline year in a decade. Is it still low? Yes. Should we be glad the decline seems to have stopped? Yes. Two things can be true. And kudos to Thomas Taylor - this system was damaged by Jack Smith, Monifa McKnight, and Monique Felder and he is trying to put pieces back together. This is not a huge win, but it is a win.

So that’s like “let’s celebrate since we finally reached the bottom!” thing? That’s so sad but I think MCPS has a lot more to give (aka nowhere near the bottom yet)!

Last year was the bottom and now we're on the upswing. While it is utterly appalling that we had terrible decade of decline, I'd think people would be glad that is beginning to change--isn't that what you all claim to want, for MCPS to get back to its glory days?. If we have increases for the next 9 years will you still be complaining about the nadir in 23-24?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

But apparently they are “turning the corner” still. They’ve been turning last 10+ years!!

They have declined in every one of the last 10 years. This is the first non-decline year in a decade. Is it still low? Yes. Should we be glad the decline seems to have stopped? Yes. Two things can be true. And kudos to Thomas Taylor - this system was damaged by Jack Smith, Monifa McKnight, and Monique Felder and he is trying to put pieces back together. This is not a huge win, but it is a win.

So that’s like “let’s celebrate since we finally reached the bottom!” thing? That’s so sad but I think MCPS has a lot more to give (aka nowhere near the bottom yet)!

Last year was the bottom and now we're on the upswing. While it is utterly appalling that we had terrible decade of decline, I'd think people would be glad that is beginning to change--isn't that what you all claim to want, for MCPS to get back to its glory days?. If we have increases for the next 9 years will you still be complaining about the nadir in 23-24?

Are we on the upswing? A 1.7 percentage point increase in ELA proficiency and a 2.9 percentage point in math proficiency seem like small enough increases that could fall within the margin of error, assuming a typical 3% margin of error.

So we very well could be flat.

[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?

But apparently they are “turning the corner” still. They’ve been turning last 10+ years!!

They have declined in every one of the last 10 years. This is the first non-decline year in a decade. Is it still low? Yes. Should we be glad the decline seems to have stopped? Yes. Two things can be true. And kudos to Thomas Taylor - this system was damaged by Jack Smith, Monifa McKnight, and Monique Felder and he is trying to put pieces back together. This is not a huge win, but it is a win.

Where do you see a decline every one of the last 10 years and then an increase this year? Last 4 years look more or less flat to me with minor fluctuations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

But apparently they are “turning the corner” still. They’ve been turning last 10+ years!!

They have declined in every one of the last 10 years. This is the first non-decline year in a decade. Is it still low? Yes. Should we be glad the decline seems to have stopped? Yes. Two things can be true. And kudos to Thomas Taylor - this system was damaged by Jack Smith, Monifa McKnight, and Monique Felder and he is trying to put pieces back together. This is not a huge win, but it is a win.

So that’s like “let’s celebrate since we finally reached the bottom!” thing? That’s so sad but I think MCPS has a lot more to give (aka nowhere near the bottom yet)!

Last year was the bottom and now we're on the upswing. While it is utterly appalling that we had terrible decade of decline, I'd think people would be glad that is beginning to change--isn't that what you all claim to want, for MCPS to get back to its glory days?. If we have increases for the next 9 years will you still be complaining about the nadir in 23-24?

Anyone who had taken any entry-level statistics course wouldn't make this type of conclusion based on one data point. The fluctuation in the last 10-years create larger noise than the rising trend from one data point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

But apparently they are “turning the corner” still. They’ve been turning last 10+ years!!

They have declined in every one of the last 10 years. This is the first non-decline year in a decade. Is it still low? Yes. Should we be glad the decline seems to have stopped? Yes. Two things can be true. And kudos to Thomas Taylor - this system was damaged by Jack Smith, Monifa McKnight, and Monique Felder and he is trying to put pieces back together. This is not a huge win, but it is a win.

So that’s like “let’s celebrate since we finally reached the bottom!” thing? That’s so sad but I think MCPS has a lot more to give (aka nowhere near the bottom yet)!

Last year was the bottom and now we're on the upswing. While it is utterly appalling that we had terrible decade of decline, I'd think people would be glad that is beginning to change--isn't that what you all claim to want, for MCPS to get back to its glory days?. If we have increases for the next 9 years will you still be complaining about the nadir in 23-24?

There's so much crazy talk in your post i don't know where to start but let me try with two bolded ones above.

[Anonymous]

I honestly don't take much stock in the MCAP testing. The kids are already burnt out going into this test from their other schoolwork, assessments, and MAP, and then they have to spend hours and hours completing all the parts over several days. After a while, the kids are just done and don't really care about their answers anymore. Some don't take it seriously to begin with. They need to really shorten the test if they want more accurate results, or just somehow use MAP data and lessen the burden on students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I honestly don't take much stock in the MCAP testing. The kids are already burnt out going into this test from their other schoolwork, assessments, and MAP, and then they have to spend hours and hours completing all the parts over several days. After a while, the kids are just done and don't really care about their answers anymore. Some don't take it seriously to begin with. They need to really shorten the test if they want more accurate results, or just somehow use MAP data and lessen the burden on students.

They don’t need to shorten the test they need to reduce how often it needs to be taken and remove the MAP exam from Spring for the students taking MCAP.

3rd, 5th, 8th is when MCAP should be give. These grades should remove the late Spring MAP.

HS has MCAP End of Course exams for Bio, Government and Algebra. That’s fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly don't take much stock in the MCAP testing. The kids are already burnt out going into this test from their other schoolwork, assessments, and MAP, and then they have to spend hours and hours completing all the parts over several days. After a while, the kids are just done and don't really care about their answers anymore. Some don't take it seriously to begin with. They need to really shorten the test if they want more accurate results, or just somehow use MAP data and lessen the burden on students.

They don’t need to shorten the test they need to reduce how often it needs to be taken and remove the MAP exam from Spring for the students taking MCAP.

3rd, 5th, 8th is when MCAP should be give. These grades should remove the late Spring MAP.

HS has MCAP End of Course exams for Bio, Government and Algebra. That’s fine.

I agree with this. It's stupid to have kids do both MCAP and MAP.

[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?

But apparently they are “turning the corner” still. They’ve been turning last 10+ years!!

They have declined in every one of the last 10 years. This is the first non-decline year in a decade. Is it still low? Yes. Should we be glad the decline seems to have stopped? Yes. Two things can be true. And kudos to Thomas Taylor - this system was damaged by Jack Smith, Monifa McKnight, and Monique Felder and he is trying to put pieces back together. This is not a huge win, but it is a win.

It’s funny that you think Thomas Taylor is responsible for this win, when all the curriculum and expectation changes were put in place by the previous 2.5 Superintendents. Jack Smith commissioned the JHU study to confirm that changes were needed and started the math curriculum change. Monifa McKnight moved the district to Science of Reading and the change in the ELA curriculum. And Felder keep the momentum start place some true aligned focus. Taylor’s biggest accomplishment at this point is just calling the budget what it is and isn’t and relationships building with the County Council.

Honestly if them all so far I think Felder was the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

But apparently they are “turning the corner” still. They’ve been turning last 10+ years!!

They have declined in every one of the last 10 years. This is the first non-decline year in a decade. Is it still low? Yes. Should we be glad the decline seems to have stopped? Yes. Two things can be true. And kudos to Thomas Taylor - this system was damaged by Jack Smith, Monifa McKnight, and Monique Felder and he is trying to put pieces back together. This is not a huge win, but it is a win.

It’s funny that you think Thomas Taylor is responsible for this win, when all the curriculum and expectation changes were put in place by the previous 2.5 Superintendents. Jack Smith commissioned the JHU study to confirm that changes were needed and started the math curriculum change. Monifa McKnight moved the district to Science of Reading and the change in the ELA curriculum. And Felder keep the momentum start place some true aligned focus. Taylor’s biggest accomplishment at this point is just calling the budget what it is and isn’t and relationships building with the County Council.

Honestly if them all so far I think Felder was the best.

Felder was in charge when Amplify CKLA was selected.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=CYPTGD770955

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly don't take much stock in the MCAP testing. The kids are already burnt out going into this test from their other schoolwork, assessments, and MAP, and then they have to spend hours and hours completing all the parts over several days. After a while, the kids are just done and don't really care about their answers anymore. Some don't take it seriously to begin with. They need to really shorten the test if they want more accurate results, or just somehow use MAP data and lessen the burden on students.

They don’t need to shorten the test they need to reduce how often it needs to be taken and remove the MAP exam from Spring for the students taking MCAP.

3rd, 5th, 8th is when MCAP should be give. These grades should remove the late Spring MAP.

HS has MCAP End of Course exams for Bio, Government and Algebra. That’s fine.

I agree with this. It's stupid to have kids do both MCAP and MAP.

That may be true, but I think MCAP is a state requirement. You can’t just choose not to do it annually. If people want to advocate to trash MCAP and use MAP as a replacement, you can call the Governor and I sure he will ignore you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid did terrible at the MCAP. Just average scores. She is however 99th on MAP-R. Testing and knowledge are two different things.

Oh interesting. I wonder how common this is? Not this exact disparity (99th percentile MAP kid scoring low on MCAP) but just in general kids being rated as "not proficient" on MCAP despite actually being proficient...

Teachers and administrators have raised concerns about MCAP specifically for a long time. My 99th percentile kid did very well on MCAP for two years, then tanked it one year. What was different? Not the ability (MAP scores remained consistent), and not the effort (my kid is a Hermione Granger type who would die before purposefully throwing a test). Just...a bad day. Maybe she was coming down with something. Maybe she forgot to eat lunch. I have no idea, but it ultimately meant nothing.

It’s hilarious how whenever the test scores are bad, school system defenders will insist there’s something wrong with the test and not the school system. And yet, when the scores are good, the system has no qualms about using them as evidence to crow about how great the system is.

You have no idea of what you're talking about.
MCAP started in 2021 and no school district in MD has done great on it since it started. There have been improvements but no district has done great. No school district has used MCAP as evidence to crow about how great they are. None.
It a bad assessment test. Schools administrators don't like it and students don't care about it. That's why the State had to make it a graduation requirement.
The new state superintendent was supposed to take a review of the MCAP.

You keep talking about MCAP.

My criticisms about the system outcomes are not relegated to just this instance of MCAP. It's talking about the ongoing pattern of decreased proficiencies on a MULTITUDE of assessments including:
- MCAP
- PARCC
- MSA
- EOL
- SAT/ACT scores
- AP/IB scores

Here's a throwback to MCPS's PARCC results from in Sept 2018: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2018/18.09.13%202018%20Final%20PARCC%20Student%20Results.pdf

From 2018: https://wtop.com/maryland/2018/08/2018-parcc-scores-top-scoring-maryland-school-systems/

51% of MCPS 3-8 students demonstrated proficiency in ELA standards. 44% of MCPS 3-8 students demonstrated proficiency in math standards.

As I stated: The proficiency problems in MCPS PRECEDE MCAP. Blaming the test does not work because the proficiency levels weren't great on state-tests that preceded MCAP and they've continued to NOT be great systemwide for external tests such as SAT/ACT and AP/IB scores.

Pull your head out of the sand and stop blame shifting. MCPS has long had an instructional quality problem.

The teachers my kids have had have been for the most part highly experienced and competent. But they seem overstretched and it’s not surprising given that my ES kid has 30 kids in their class and my MS kid has an average of 34 kids per class. How do you expect kids to get the attention they need with those kinds of class sizes?