Nearly nine in 10 AACPS schools earned three or more stars using new baseline data on the 2022-2023 Maryland Report Card’s five-star accountability system, according to data released by the Maryland State Department of Education today. Overall, nearly 47 percent of the 116 schools to receive ratings under the newly configured system earned a place in the top two tiers, putting AACPS higher than the state average by approximately 9 percentage points in both measures.
Nowhere was the news brighter than in the Annapolis cluster, where five of the nine comprehensive schools that showed increases in the percentage of points earned are located. Annapolis Elementary School led the way, with a 20.1 percent increase in points earned, mostly in the student growth category. The percentage of points earned jumped 3.9 points at Tyler Heights Elementary School, 1.8 points at Annapolis Middle School, 1.0 points at Mills-Parole Elementary School, and 0.3 points at Germantown Elementary School.
Three schools – Seven Oaks Elementary (6.6), Van Bokkelen Elementary (6.5), and the Phoenix Academy (6.2) each showed growth of more than 6 percentage points. Other schools showing growth in points earned were Woodside Elementary (3.4), Virtual Academy (2.6), Evening High School (2.0) and Glen Burnie Park Elementary (0.7).
“There is very clearly a tremendous amount of work going on in the Annapolis cluster as well as at Seven Oaks and Van Bokkelen that is increasing outcomes for students,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell said. “We will look deeply at the data and see how we can expand it – along with exemplary programs from other schools – across our county to reach even more students.”
The ratings, calculated from data collected during the 2022-2023 school year, are the fourth issued using the metrics that are part of Maryland’s accountability system under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Report Card incorporates multiple indicators of school performance and calculates them into a final score to arrive at a rating of one to five stars.
The metrics used to calculate scores in the latest report card differ from those in the 2021-2022 school year, making direct comparisons of the data difficult. Aside from the inclusion of the new Social Studies 8 assessment for middle schools, the current report card data reverted to calculations used prior to the COVID-19 pandemic for attendance, growth for elementary and middle school level, and scores from 12th-graders instead of 11th-graders at the high school level.
“While it is difficult to do direct comparisons, this data provides a great look at where we are and helps us focus on where we need to go,” Dr. Bedell said. “With ESSA consistent calculations moving forward, I believe we will see increases in both the number of stars earned by our schools and in overall scores next year. There is a great emphasis, as there should be, on attendance in these scores, and families have to do their part by getting their students to school.”
The following schools earned five-star ratings:
- High School: Severna Park
- Elementary School: Arnold, Benfield, Folger McKinsey, Jones, Severna Park, Shipley’s Choice, West Annapolis.
- Multi-level: Chesapeake Science Point
Schools Not Rated
Schools that do not meet the minimum requirements for accountability were not rated as part of the Maryland Report Card. In Anne Arundel County, those schools are:
- Center of Applied Technology – North
- Center of Applied Technology – South
- Central Special School
- Carrie Weedon Early Education Center
- Ferndale Early Education Center
- Marley Glen School
- Mary Moss @ J. Albert Adams Academy
- Ruth Parker Eason School
- West Meade Early Education Center
Complete Maryland Report Card results can be found here.
Star ratings for all county schools can be found here.