Students in suburban Maryland improved their scores on statewide standardized test scores used to gauge progress under No Child Left Behind, according to results released today by the Maryland Department of Education.
In Montgomery County, 86 percent of third-graders scored at or above proficiency in math and reading, up from 80 percent in math and 78 percent in reading in 2004, and up about two percentage points from last year.
Enough students scored “at or above proficiency” on the yearly Maryland State Assessment, or MSA, to meet federal guidelines for adequate progress toward the goal of all students scoring “proficient” in reading and math by 2014.
In Prince George’s County, the mark was met by 72 percent of third-graders, up from 57 percent in math and 55 percent in reading in 2004. Students made a 4 percent leap in math proficiency over last year’s scores, and 2 percent inreading.
“Forward progress is good, and that’s the direction we have to keep going,” said Montgomery school board member Pat O’Neill, adding that a handful of schools in Montgomery were removed from the federal watch-list of underperforming schools. “We need to be vigorous every day in every classroom, paying attention to every student.”
As officials cheer the successes, however, the racial achievement gap that No Child Left Behind aims to wipe out continues to bedevil both counties.
In Montgomery, where intense efforts have been made since early in the decade to reduce class size and increase resources to the poorest schools, 76 percent of black and Hispanic third-graders scored at or above proficiency in reading, compared with 95 percent of their white peers.
In Prince George’s, a predominantly black district, the greatest gap was between white and Hispanic students. While 86 percent of white third-graders scored at or above proficiency in math, only 74 percent of Hispanic third-graders performed the same. In reading, 84 percent of white students did well enough, while only 66 percent of Hispanic students met the requirements.
Scores for Virginia students’ standardized tests will be released by the end of August.
