St. Mary’s County Pubic Schools posted significant gains across all grade levels on the 2007 Alternate Maryland School Assessment (Alt-MSA) based on the results recently released by the Maryland State Department of Education.

Additionally, Benjamin Banneker Elementary School and Esperanza Middle School have been designated as “High Performing Schools”.  Only 10 schools in the state of Maryland earned this designation for Alt-MSA performance in 2007.

“Our continued high expectations for all students are now reflected in this critical achievement measure,” said Dr. Michael J. Martirano, superintendent of schools. “This is an example of how collaboration and commitment to rigorous instruction is improving outcomes for all students in St. Mary’s County Public Schools.”
 
The Alt-MSA is the Maryland assessment that students with disabilities participate in if, through the IEP process, it has been determined they cannot participate in the Maryland State Assessment (MSA) even with accommodations.  The assessment is given to eligible students in grades 3-8 and 10, and measures their reading and mathematic skills.  For reading and mathematics, students earned a designation of “Basic” for scores of 50% or fewer, “Proficient” for scores between 51% and 89%, and “Advanced” for scores of 90% or above.

SMCPS students demonstrated growth and achievement in the following areas:

• SMCPS students exceed state averages in student achieving “Proficient/Advanced” in all grades assessed in both reading and mathematics;
• 81.8 to 100% of students in grades 3-8 and 10 achieved “Proficient” or “Advanced” in reading and math;
• Some grade levels experienced as much as 100% increase in “Proficient” and “Advanced” levels of student achievement over the 2006 scores.

Benjamin Banneker Elementary and Esperanza Middle received the “High Performing Schools” designation for the following accomplishments:

Reading –
Grade 5 – Benjamin Banneker Elementary School – 100% Advanced
Grade 8 – Esperanza Middle School – 100% Advanced

Mathematics –
Grade 5 – Benjamin Banneker Elementary School – 100% Advanced

“Teachers and administrators are to be commended for this success,” said Ms. Linda Dudderar, chief academic officer.  “This growth demonstrates that SMCPS focused efforts in staff development, curriculum alignment, and data collection are resulting in substantial student gains.”

The Alt-MSA is required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure student access to the general curriculum.  Federal regulations require these scores to be included in school accountability, particularly in determining Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).