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MSDE Releases Annual Maryland School Report Card
School star ratings include new eighth-grade social studies assessment and pre-pandemic calculations for academic growth and chronic absenteeism
BALTIMORE (December 13, 2023) – Today, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released state, district and school-level results for the 2023 Maryland School Report Card.
Report card data, star ratings for individual schools, and informational resources were posted on the Maryland School Report Card website, providing a comprehensive view of school performance under the Maryland Accountability System. School star ratings are based on multiple indicators, including academic and non-academic measures. Preliminary results were presented during the monthly State Board of Education meeting held Tuesday, December 5. According to the results, 37 percent of schools earned the top two ratings of four or five stars. The majority of schools maintained their star ratings as compared to the prior school year with 79 percent of schools awarded three or more stars.
The calculation of school ratings for the 2022-2023 school year includes three changes from the prior year. In addition to the new eighth-grade social studies assessment’s inclusion in the Academic Progress indicator for middle schools, the elementary and middle school Academic Growth measure and Chronic Absenteeism at all school levels returned to pre-pandemic methods of calculation.
“This is a new baseline year for Maryland, in terms of where we are and where we want to be,” said Interim State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carey Wright. “Due to the difference in calculating results between the two school years, we cannot make perfect comparisons. However, we celebrate those districts and schools that showed success and we will continue to support those that faced challenges.”
“Our focus is on making transformational educational change for students,” said State Board President Clarence Crawford. “While there are signs of progress and many successes to highlight, we must continue to focus on seeing real, improved outcomes for children.”
This is the fourth year of School Report Cards and the star ratings system.
Schools earn between one and five stars based on the percentage of points earned across a series of indicators. For elementary and middle schools, the indicators are: Academic Achievement, Academic Progress, Progress in Achieving English Language Proficiency, and School Quality and Student Success. For high schools, the indicators are Academic Achievement, Graduation Rate, Progress in Achieving English Language Proficiency, Readiness for Postsecondary Success, and School Quality and Student Success.
Star ratings were not issued for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. The U.S. Department of Education granted a one-year waiver to the Maryland accountability system for the 2021-2022 school year due to the pandemic, which included adjustments to the student progress/growth and chronic absenteeism measures. The school identification timeline for comprehensive and additional targeted support and intervention schools were also adjusted to account for the pause in reporting accountability system results.
Informational resources are available on the Maryland Report Card website to help families, educators, and community members understand and analyze the school report cards. The tools include a user guide and one-pager that summarize calculations for elementary, middle, and high schools.
The Maryland School Report Card includes disaggregated data showing the performance of each student group and a downloadable report for each school. The Maryland Report Card website provides information on a wide variety of measures beyond star ratings including enrollment, attendance, performance reporting on state assessments, performance on college readiness assessments, and postsecondary enrollment in colleges.
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