BALTIMORE — At the latest January Board meeting, the Maryland Department of Education released an update to 2021-2022 school year in English language arts (ELA) and mathematic assessment data.
This update details student proficiency in the new Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP).
According to the data, statewide ELA results have returned to pre-pandemic proficiency rates with improvements across all grade levels and student groups.
Students across all grade levels attained similar or improved proficiency rates in comparison to their 2018-2019 performance.
However, the data for math rates tell a different story. The percentage of students proficient on the math assessments has not returned to pre-pandemic levels of proficiency.
PAST: Student math proficiency remains below pre-pandemic levels in Maryland
Results also indicate a decreasing proficiency in math as students advance from third to eighth grades.
Math proficiency numbers decreased from 33% in 2018-2019 to 22% in 2021-2022. The percent of students proficient in Algebra 1 was 14%, but pre-pandemic that number was 27% in 2019.
National data shows that grade levels were affected differently by the pandemic.
The data followed groups of Maryland students over time and revealed ELA proficiency has increased 4-5 percentage points between third and eighth grades, while math dipped by 24-26 points.
This newly designed MCAP ELA and math assessments were administered to Maryland students for the first time in Spring 2022.
