District presents MCAP results; officials cite gains but raise concerns about adaptive assessment

District academic leaders presented Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) results Wednesday, noting overall progress but warning that the adaptive state assessment produced anomalous dips in some years and that the Maryland State Department of Education is pursuing a new assessment procurement.

Snapshot of results: district presenters reported a 57% average proficiency rate in ELA (grades 3-8 and grade 10), which ranked Saint Mary's County seventh of 24 local education agencies. Tenth-grade ELA proficiency was reported at about 70%, roughly 10 percentage points above the state average, district officials said.

Mathematics: presenters said the district's overall math proficiency was about 35% compared with a statewide average of 26.5%, representing nearly a six-percentage-point gain for the district from the prior year. District staff highlighted particularly strong middle-school math results (sixth grade ranked third in the state; seventh grade ranked second), and steady gains in Algebra I proficiency, though they flagged low proficiency among high-school takers on the current Algebra I administration.

Assessment concerns and state response: presenters and board members raised technical concerns about the adaptive test format. District officials said the state superintendent and the State Board of Education convened a technical-advisory review and that the state will issue an RFP this month for a new statewide assessment; the procurement process could take roughly nine months, they said. "They did find anomalies ... and it was the recommendation for a brand new state assessment," a district presenter said, summarizing the state discussion.

Instructional response: the district described immediate instructional next steps: content supervisors and principals are comparing school-year data, principals are developing school improvement plans due Sept. 30, supervisors are holding quarterly data meetings and the district is expanding targeted small-group interventions at elementary schools. Individual student score reports for parents were expected to be delivered to schools the week of the board meeting; the district said buildings have 30 days to send reports home.

Board reaction: board members expressed cautious concern about the assessment results but praised district staff for data-driven interventions. No policy action was taken; presenters said they will continue to share data with the board and refine instructional priorities.

Notes on embargo: presenters said portions of the MCAP dataset (some science and social-studies components) remained embargoed at the time of the presentation and were being used internally by supervisors.