Several schools fall short of assessment goals

July 14, 2012

2012 Report Card

Results of the 2012 Maryland School Assessment tests for grades three through eight were released Tuesday.

That included math and reading results for 32 public elementary and middle schools in Washington County. Results for Hancock Middle-Senior High School are expected to be available when High School Assessment results are released later this summer.

The data released last week included whether schools and student subgroups met targets set for the percentage of students who scored at least “proficient” on their reading or math assessment tests. Students achieve “basic,” “proficient” or “advanced” on their reading and math assessment tests.

According to data available at the Maryland State Department of Education’s website at www.mdreportcard.org, at least seven county schools missed the proficiency target in at least one area.

Eastern Elementary School missed reading proficiency for students of two or more races.
Fountaindale Elementary School missed reading proficiency for black or African-American students, and for students who received free or reduced-priced meals.
Hickory Elementary School missed math proficiency for all students as well as for white students and students who received free or reduced-priced meals.
Maugansville Elementary School missed math proficiency for special-education students.
Pangborn Elementary School missed reading proficiency for special-education students.
Clear Spring Middle School missed reading and math proficiencies for special-education students.
Springfield Middle School missed reading proficiency for Hispanic/Latino students, for white students and for students with limited English proficiency.

The state website also has E. Russell Hicks Middle School missing reading proficiency for all students. However, Jeremy Jakoby, testing and accountability supervisor for the local school system, said the state website contains an error and Hicks met that proficiency goal.

The state education department was going to recalculate the school’s data and had not confirmed the error as of Friday.

MSA highlights

The schools with the highest percentages of students who scored at least proficient in reading on the 2012 Maryland School Assessment tests were Sharpsburg Elementary School (94.9 percent) and Boonsboro Middle School (93 percent).
The schools with the highest percentages of students who scored at least proficient in math in 2012 were Pleasant Valley Elementary School (equal to or greater than 95 percent) and Smithsburg Middle School (93.3 percent). The state does not release exact percentages above 95 percent to protect students’ privacy, however, Pleasant Valley was the highest, according to Jeremy Jakoby, the local school system’s supervisor of testing and accountability.
Countywide, the percentages of students who scored at least proficient on the math assessment test, when looked at by grade level, increased from 2011 to 2012 for grades three, five, six, seven and eight.
The percentages of students who scored at least proficient on the 2012 math assessment test, by grade level, reached all-time highs for grades five, six and seven.
The percentages of students who scored advanced on their math assessment test, when looked at by grade level, increased from 2011 to 2012 for grades five, six and seven.

Sources: Washington County Public Schools and Maryland State Department of Education data at www.mdreportcard.org.

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