BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released the 2024 Maryland School Report Card on Tuesday, revealing an increase in schools receiving high ratings. The report, which analyzes school performance for the 2023-24 academic year under the Maryland Accountability System, shows that 41% of schools earned either four or five stars, compared to 38% in the previous year.

According to the MSDE, 83% of schools received three or more stars, up from 80% in 2022-23. The improvement in school ratings comes as the state prepares to implement a new assessment system by the 2026-27 school year.

“We are encouraged to see growth and an increase in schools demonstrating four- and five-star ratings and the number on the Maryland Report Card indicating progress in school quality and student achievement in public schools,” said Dr. Joshua Michael, State Board President.

The Maryland School Report Card bases school star ratings on a variety of indicators, including academic achievement, academic progress, and school quality and student success. Elementary and middle schools also include progress in achieving English language proficiency as an indicator, while high schools use graduation rate, readiness for postsecondary success, and progress in achieving English language proficiency. Schools earn one to five stars based on points earned across indicators.

Dr. Carey M. Wright, State Superintendent of Schools, acknowledged the report’s findings but emphasized the need for a more streamlined accountability system. “Over the last five years, the Maryland School Report Card has provided insight into factors that influence school success and student achievement,” said Wright. “However, as we move forward, we will be exploring ways to ensure that our accountability system evaluates schools in clear, streamlined ways that educators, administrators and families can easily understand.”

This year saw the formation of the Assessment and Accountability Task Force, led by the nonprofit National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment. The task force, composed of key Maryland education stakeholders, presented their recommendations to the MSDE on Tuesday. Their recommendations include creating a single, coherent accountability system that reflects both federal requirements and state priorities, as well as streamlining the system without sacrificing quality or comprehensiveness. The task force also suggested prioritizing implementing changes to the system but providing longitudinal comparability where possible.

The task force also suggested basing the Academic Achievement indicator solely on English language arts and mathematics proficiency, adopting a student growth measure, and developing a framework that builds upon the current definition of College and Career Readiness.

The Maryland School Report Card provides detailed information for each school, including disaggregated data for student groups such as multilingual learners, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities. Results show that multilingual learners, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities perform lower than the overall student population. The MSDE encourages families, educators, and the community to explore the report and the available resources on the Maryland Report Card website.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

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