This article was originally published in Maryland matters.
Five days after the Maryland State Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of the appointment Carey Wright As the state’s permanent superintendent of schools, she held a news conference Monday to announce the creation of a task force to evaluate educational outcomes.
Wright said members of this group will include local superintendents, principals and higher education representatives to provide recommendations on how to better evaluate student performance in the classroom. The group will be led by the Center for Assessment, a national nonprofit educational organization that designs, implements and evaluates accountability systems to see how students learn.
Part of this initiative stems from Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP), which measures a student’s skills in math, English, and science.
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THE Maryland Bulletin uses a one- to five-star rating system to measure overall academic performance, such as graduation rates, attendance and academic achievement.
MCAP scores are among the factors that determine the state’s report card and school star rating system.
Although 76 percent of Maryland schools received at least three out of five stars in the state’s report card released in December, only 47 percent of all students in grades three through eight scored proficient. ‘English. The percentage was even lower in mathematics, at almost 25% proficient.
“That doesn’t ring true,” Wright said. “You can’t have three-quarters of your schools rated excellent, if you will, and not see student achievement, almost on par with that. »
The task force, which will meet approximately twice a month, will begin its work Thursday and provide recommendations by December to the State Board of Education. Because this accountability system for assessing student achievement is enshrined in state law, any proposed changes will have to be made before the Maryland General Assembly convenes for its 90-day legislative session in January.
There are also plans to update the online report card to make it easier for parents, guardians and students to understand.
“The school report card website needs to be much more accessible for people to understand and be able to access the data for their schools in their districts,” said Joshua Michael, vice president of the school board. “I’m so excited to have Dr. Wright leading this part of the responsibility [measure].”
Wright, who will begin his tenure without an interim title on July 1, said discussions “need to start now” about trying to diversify the state’s teaching workforce.
This is among the priorities of Maryland’s Future Education Reform plan, but some heads of local establishments have documented difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified teachers, and even recruiting teachers of color.
Although Maryland is one of the most diverse states in the country, a September 2023 report from THE…
