Calvert County elementary and middle school students continue to perform very well on the reading and math Maryland School Assessments (MSA), with proficient or advanced scores near or above 90 percent for the All Student group on all four assessments.
The MSAs are state tests that provide information about individual students, schools, school systems and the state. Scores fall in the basic, proficient and advanced levels.
The percentage of Calvert County middle school students scoring proficient or advanced in mathematics has risen consistently over the past five years. The percent of middle students scoring proficient or advanced on the statewide math test increased from 88.8 in 2012 to 89.4 in 2013, and the middle school reading results increased from 89.1 in 2012 to 91.5 in 2013.
While the elementary reading and math scores decreased slightly from 2012 to 2013 in both reading and math, the results of 92.9 percent in reading and 92.1 percent in math remained well above the state average.
“We are pleased that our students have continued to display high levels of performance as we continue to transition to the Common Core,” said Interim Superintendent Nancy Highsmith. “I agree with our State Superintendent of Schools when she points out that there will be a statewide drop in scores during the transition because there will be a misalignment between the Common Core and the MSAs through 2014.”
In a press release, State Superintendent of Schools Lillian M. Lowery said, “We are in a transition period, both in Maryland and throughout the nation. Maryland schools have been implementing the Common Core State Standards in reading and mathematics, but new assessments aligned to the curriculum will not be ready for use until the 2014-15 school year. This misalignment will certainly affect our scores this year and next.”
Overall, the Calvert County MSA scores for students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students followed the same trend as that for Calvert’s student population as a whole, increasing at the middle school level in both reading and math while decreasing at the elementary school level.
In the state’s press release, the Maryland State Department of Education noted that one reason for the drop in scores for students with disabilities was a change in the assessed student population. A modified version of the MSA was no longer administered, so some students with disabilities took the general assessment for the first time in 2013.
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