Calvert County schools are mailing reading and math Maryland School Assessment Home Reports to parents of students in grades three through eight. Most parents will receive the reports in early July.
MSA Home Reports are prepared by the Maryland State Department of Education. Each report gives the child’s score in reading or math as well as the average scores for the school, Calvert County and Maryland in that subject area at that grade level.
Each child’s score shows how well he or she has learned the math or reading content standards set by the state department. Content standards define what a student should know and be able to do at the end of that particular grade. For example, Grade 3 Mathematics Content Standards define the math knowledge and skills that a third grader should know at the end of grade 3.
In addition to the child’s score- which will be between 240 and 650 – parents are told whether their child is performing at the “Basic” level (student needs more work to master standards), the “Proficient” level (student has met the standards) or the “Advanced” level (student regularly works above the standards).
The MSA Home Report says that “the MSA test is only one indication of your child’s performance.” Jack Smith, Superintendent of Calvert County Public Schools, agrees. “If parents have questions about the MSA Home Report or about their child’s performance in school, we encourage them to call their child’s school and schedule a time to come in and talk,” he said. “We know that the key to a student’s success is a strong working relationship between the home and school.”
The school, county and state reports which determine whether schools and school systems have made adequate yearly progress are not yet available. It is anticipated that the state department will release those reports in July.