Carroll County posts statewide gains on 2024–25 MCAP; gaps remain for multilingual learners and students with disabilities

Carroll County Public Schools reported net gains across reading, math and science on the state'administered MCAP tests for the 2024–25 school year, but presenters told the Board of Education on Sept. 10 that specific student groups'notably multilingual learners and some students with disabilities'remain behind county averages.

District staff delivered the update after the Maryland State Department of Education released statewide MCAP results. "We are above the state average across all ELA assessments," said Dr. Kendra Hart, supervisor for testing and school performance, describing county ELA proficiency and gains compared with 2023–24.

The data showed countywide highlights and areas of concern. Carroll County ranked second statewide for combined ELA proficiency at 66.5 percent (an increase from the prior year) and third statewide in combined mathematics at 40.5 percent (up nearly 3 percentage points). Science combined proficiency rose to 39.8 percent, a more than 6-point gain from 2023–24, with grade 8 science up about 10 points.

Why it matters: the MCAP is Maryland's publicly reported assessment used for school and district monitoring; the results inform school improvement plans and state funding conversations. Board and staff said the county will use the disaggregated results to target classroom supports and professional learning.

Most of Carroll's grade-level and subgroup proficiency rates remained above the state average, presenters said, but the increases were not uniform. Countywide ELA proficiency increased by 1 to 5 percentage points at several grade levels, with the largest ELA gain in Grade 10 (about 7 points). In math, grades 3–8 showed moderate gains (1–5 points) with the largest increase in Grade 7 (5 points); Algebra I proficiency decreased slightly (about 1 point).

Presenters emphasized subgroup detail. Students who identify as Black/African American and White showed countywide ELA gains of roughly 4–5 points; however, some racial/ethnic groups and multilingual learners showed small declines in particular grades. For students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, multiple grades improved, with notable gains in several elementary grades. County staff said proficiency among students with disabilities improved in some grades (including a 6-point gain in ELA Grade 10) but remained low enough in other grades that results are suppressed to avoid identifying individual students.

District staff described concrete next steps. School leaders have already received disaggregated, standard-level reports and are expected to use them in school improvement plans and professional learning. "We must use data discussions, planning, professional learning, and program evaluation," Dr. Hart said, noting that schools are examining achievement by standard to design targeted instruction and interventions.

Supervisors across elementary and secondary programs described tactical responses: revising common writing assessments and scoring rubrics to match MCAP expectations, piloting writing tools (NoRedInk) at selected schools to build writing fluency, aligning elementary math units and benchmarks with Illustrative Mathematics, expanding formative checks and exit tickets in secondary math, and revising science common assessments to emphasize constructed-response writing prompts.

Board members asked for explanations about the science gains and subgroup changes. Elementary and secondary science supervisors credited improved local assessments, repeatedly revised common units, and a concentrated focus on scientific writing and constructed-response practice for the improvement in science scores. County assessment staff said the reporting system's increased question-level detail this year made those analyses possible.

What did not change: there was no vote or policy adoption tied to the presentation. Staff said the information will inform school-level plans and central-office professional learning investments. Officials flagged multilingual learners and some students with disabilities as priorities for focused interventions and said additional targeted supports will be phased into schools this year.

Ending note: district leaders framed the results as progress with more work ahead. "Proficiency numbers presented represent students, and the numbers not presented represent students," Dr. Hart told the board, urging continued attention to students still not achieving proficiency.