Test scores for Maryland public school students in grades 3 to 8 show English proficiency has surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
For the first time in years, Maryland is on track with English proficiency, with public school students in grades 3 to 8 testing above pre-COVID-19 levels. The 2023 Maryland Public Schools Report Card details recent test results for all 24 local education agencies (LEAs) and provides a comprehensive picture of school performance for elementary and middle schools across Maryland based on subject proficiency. The 2023 scores represent only the second statewide proficiency testing since the pandemic’s start; 2022 was the first year since 2019.
The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program tests — which the annual schools report card is based on — are administered every year in public schools to measure student progression and inform methods of instruction. Public school students in third to eighth grades are tested on English and math proficiency. Students in grades 5 and 8 are also tested on science.
English proficiency surpasses pre-pandemic levels
During the pandemic, English proficiency dropped 13 percent from 2019 to 2021. However, proficiency is on the upswing, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, third- and eighth-graders’ English proficiency increased by 16 percentage points from the five-year low in 2021.
According to the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), English proficiency increased significantly in 2022 and by a more minor degree in 2023, showing an average statewide passing rate of 47 percent. Twenty-three of the 24 LEAs had an increase in proficiency. Somerset County saw a slight (0.3 percent) decrease. Baltimore City had the most improvement at 22 percent.
Challenges remain
While English proficiency has rebounded, math and science remain below pre-pandemic levels. The Daily Record reports, “The 24% average passing rate for math in 2023 is still lower than the 31% in 2019, indicating that math scores have still not fully recovered from pandemic learning loss.” While they have not reached pre-pandemic levels, math scores did increase by 6 percent from 2021 to 2022 and 3 percent from 2022 to 2023.
Unlike English scores, not every LEA had an improvement in math scores; four LEAs saw a decline: Baltimore, Kent, Somerset, and Talbot. Baltimore County had a significant 15 percent drop in math proficiency from 2022.
Additionally, science proficiency remains a concern. In grade 5, science proficiency in the last five years peaked in 2021 at 41 percent proficiency (a 12 percent increase from 2019). In 2022, proficiency dropped to 31 percent but rose to 35 percent in 2023. Grade 8 scores have been on a “steady decline” since 2022, dropping from 35 percent in 2022 to 26 percent in 2023 — the lowest in the last five years.
The Daily Record reports:
With the exception of Dorchester, every county had at least a 10% decline in grade 8 science proficiency from 2022 to 2023. Six counties had over a 30% decrease from 2022: Kent, Charles, Prince George’s, Washington, Allegany and Queen Anne’s.
MSDE states that the decline is likely because the grade 8 students tested in 2023 were in grade 6 during the 2020-2021 school year, predominantly online due to the pandemic. The Daily Record notes, “As a result, students missed key science instruction during their first year of middle school.”
