The percentage of Anne Arundel County Public Schools students who reached the level designated as College and Career Ready (CCR) on their respective PARCC Algebra I assessments jumped drastically in the 2017-2018 school year, according to data released by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) today.
Nearly 84 percent of middle school students taking the Algebra I assessment either met or exceeded CCR expectations (score of 4 or 5), a 4.4 percentage point jump from the year before. High school students meeting or exceeding expectations showed an even bigger increase: 5.3 percentage points to 23.3 percent.
Overall, the percentage of AACPS students meeting or exceeding expectations grew at every level on the math assessment. At the elementary level, 41.8 percent of students met or exceeded expectations, a 0.5 percentage point increase.
At the middle school level, 33.7 percent of students taking the general math assessment met or exceeded expectations, a 2.0 percentage point increase. In seventh grade math, the percentage of students scoring meeting or exceeding expectations soared by 8.2 percentage points to 42.5 percent.
MSDE requires school systems across the state to administer the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers assessments each year to students in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. Elementary and middle school students are assessed in English Language Arts (ELA) and math. High school students are assessed at the time they take Algebra I and English 10.
The percentage of AACPS students who met or exceeded expectations was higher than the state average in 13 of 14 assessed areas.
“Our middle school math scores, particularly in seventh grade, provide evidence that our intentional focus on math is paying dividends,” Superintendent George Arlotto said. “The results of the work we are doing are setting more students up to be successful in high school math and beyond.”
Among student groups, of particular note was the performance of African-American middle school students on the Algebra I assessment. The percentage of those students who met or exceeded expectations rose by 8.2 percentage points, and the gap between African-American and white students on the assessment shrunk by 5.7 percentage points.
The percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations was either stagnant or lower on the ELA assessment. AACPS saw a 1.7 percentage point increase in middle school (46.3 percent); a 1.0 percentage point increase in high school (57.5 percent); and a 3.6 percentage point decrease in elementary school (48.2 percent).
“While we saw gains in two of the three levels of the English assessments, we clearly have some work to do in order to get students to where they need to be,” Dr. Arlotto said. “PARCC assessments are just one tool that we use to measure student knowledge and skills, but they are a very important tool. We, like other school systems, still have challenges to meet, particularly as we seek to foster more student growth while simultaneously working to eliminate achievement gaps.
School highlights
Several schools across the county posted double-digit gains in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations as compared to 2016-17. They include:
- Marley Middle School, 24.1 percentage points in Algebra I.
- Chesapeake Science Point (middle school), 23.2 percentage points in Algebra I, 17.8 percentage points in English Language Arts, and 12.1 percentage points in math.
- Annapolis Middle School, 21.4 percentage points in Algebra I.
- Crofton Middle School, 17.4 percentage points in Algebra I.
- Deale Elementary School, 17.2 percentage points in math and 10.7 percentage points in English Language Arts.
- Broadneck High School, 14.8 percentage points in Algebra I.
- West Annapolis Elementary School, 13.8 percentage points in math.
- Oakwood Elementary School, 12.3 percentage points in math.
- Glen Burnie High School, 12.2 percentage points in English 10.
- Lindale Middle School, 11.1 percentage points in Algebra I.
- Georgetown East Elementary School, 11.0 percentage points in math.
- Central Middle School, 10.7 percentage points in English Language Arts.
- Old Mill High School, 10.4 percentage points in Algebra I.
- Bates Middle School, 10.0 percentage points in English Language Arts.
Systemwide PARCC results from the May 2018 assessments can be found by clicking the links below. Specific school information can be found here.
PARCC Results: Elementary School English Language Arts
PARCC Results: Elementary School Math
PARCC Results: Middle School English Language Arts