County Schools Report MSA Gains

Baltimore County Public Schools officials are taking the long view when looking at the 2011 Maryland School Assessment (MSA) scores, touting significant gains since 2003. 

The percentage of elementary school students who scored proficient or advanced in reading on the MSA grew from 67 percent in 2003 to 90 percent in 2011. For middle school students, the reading score grew from 60 percent in 2003 to 83 percent this year. In some cases, Baltimore County scores are higher than the state average.

“We’re closing the achievement gap,” said Renee Foose, deputy superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools. “Truly something is happening here.”

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, all students must be proficient in reading and math by 2014. In Maryland, schools administer the Maryland School Assessment tests in both reading and math in third through eighth grades.

In order to reach 100 percent proficiency, the number of students who improve must grow each year. Students are measured as a whole and as subgroups, which include race, special education, non-native English speakers and students who receive free and reduced price meals.

But score changes from 2010 to 2011 are less significant in Baltimore County, with scores in some reading and math increasing by only one or two percent, and in some cases staying the same or dropping slightly.

Those smaller changes are harder to assess, Foose said, as every year the number of students who need to pass grows. 

“Our students are chasing a moving target,” she said.

Schools with students who don't improve enough each year, as a whole or in subgroups, will fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

If a school fails to meet AYP, they are required to make changes to improve scores, which can include school restructuring or staff changes. Maryland has adjusted the penalties for AYP since 2007, after discovering that of the schools who fell short that year, 45 percent of them were due to a single subgroup.

Schools who enter AYP for one year will undergo an assessment of their performance, but will not face as serious consequences until after failing to make AYP four years in a row. 

In Baltimore County, 23 schools—13 percent—failed to make AYP this year - a number similar to last year. Foose said this may change due to an error in state data that is also affecting other counties. By comparison, 12 percent of Montgomery County Public Schools failed to make AYP as well as 3 percent of Howard County Public Schools and 11 percent of Harford County Public Schools.

“We are always concerned when we have a school that doesn’t meet AYP,” Foose said. “It’s unfortunate that one or two students can cause an entire school not to meet AYP.”

In Maryland, test scores grew or stayed the same when compared to 2010, with at least 70 percent of students in every grade scoring proficient or advanced. Across Maryland, elementary school reading scores are almost at 90 percent proficient or advanced. 

Check out report cards from these Towson-area schools:

Dumbarton Middle School

Among sixth graders, 88 percent of the school's 275 sixth graders passed the reading test, statistically on par with 89 percent (of 294 students) last year. Math scores for sixth graders were also down slightly, from 88.8 percent to 85.6 percent proficient. Seventh graders improved from 86.2 percent to 89.1 percent on the reading test and from 85.1 to 86.9 percent on the math test. Eighth graders stayed flat at 86.9 percent on the reading test test this year, and improved from 82.7 to 87 percent on the math test.

Hampton Elementary School

Virtually all third graders passed the math test, along with 94.7 percent of fourth graders and 89.2 percent of fifth graders. The latter number represents a drop from at least 95 percent last year. For the reading test, 94.1 percent of third graders passed, along with 94.7 percent of fourth graders and 93.8 percent of fifth graders.

Riderwood Elementary School

Virtually all third through fifth graders passed reading and math tests.

Rodgers Forge Elementary School

Virtually all third through fifth graders passed reading and math tests, on par with previous years. The only rate below 95.5 percent was for fifth graders on the math test, where 67 of 71 passed.

Stoneleigh Elementary School

Virtually all third, fourth and fifth graders scored proficient or better on reading and math tests. Stoneleigh showed 92 of 95 third graders passing the math test, a slight drop from last year, but higher than 2009, when 83 of 91 passed.

West Towson Elementary School

Virtually all of West Towson's third through fifth graders scored proficient on the reading test. The same was true on the math test. This was the school's first year, so there is no data to compare to..