Twice as many AACPS high school students as a year ago earned a score of 4 or 5 – high enough to be designated as on track for college and career readiness – on last year’s Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) Algebra I assessments, according to data released today.
The increase was the highest among a series of gains on the PARCC math assessments. More than 20 percent of high school students taking the Algebra I assessment earned a 4 or 5.
At the elementary level, more than 45 percent of students in grades 3 through 5 – a 4.1 percentage point increase from a year ago – earned a 4 or 5 on the math assessment, and 29.3 percent of students – 1.2 percentage points more than a year ago – reached the mark at the middle school level.
The lone drop in math came on the Algebra I assessment for middle school students, where the percentage of students earning a 4 or 5 was a system-high 78.2, but was 1.4 points lower than last year.
Overall, the percentage of AACPS students earning a 4 or 5 outpaced the state average in English and Math at every grade level except eighth-grade math.
“The PARCC assessments are far more rigorous than their predecessors, and these data points give us one more set of indicators of our progress as we move our students to a place where they are all college and career ready,” Superintendent George Arlotto said. “While two years of data does not establish any long-term trend, it does give us information to put to use as we seek to help teachers elevate all students and eliminate all gaps.”
Bates Middle School repeated its stellar performance on the Algebra I assessment from a year ago, when 92.2 percent of students earned a 4 or 5. This year, 10 percent more Bates students took the Algebra I assessments and the percentage of students earning a 4 or 5 rose to 98.
On the English 10 assessment, 45.5 percent of high school students – 6.5 percentage points more than a year ago – earned a 4 or 5. The percentage of students earning that mark in elementary and middle school fell by 0.9 and 2.3 points, respectively.
More information on PARCC assessments can be found by clicking the link below.
SAT SCORES
Members of the Class of 2016 had a higher average combined score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) than their counterparts across the state and nation, according to data released by the College Board. The county’s average combined score on the assessment was 1485 points, 29 points higher than the state average and one point higher than the national average.
County students had an average score of 502 on the critical reading portion of the assessment, 12 points higher than the Maryland average and eight points higher than the national average. In math, the county average of 504 was 14 points higher than the state but four points lower than the national average.
In writing, county students had an average of 479 points, three points higher than the state average and three points lower than the national average.
Overall, county scores increased five points in reading, two points in math, and two points in writing compared to a year ago.
Complete SAT results can be found by clicking the link below.