FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2015
Today the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released elementary and middle school data from the 2015 administration of the PARCC assessments. The results set a new baseline that will help to determine whether students are on track for the next grade.
Dr. Daniel Curry, Superintendent, said, “We are so pleased to finally get the results of the PARCC test. Even though the school year is almost half complete, our staff is eager to analyze performance at every level at every school and make plans for improvement.”
Students in grades 3-8 took the PARCC assessments last spring. Students will receive individual scores, but scores will not be used for student or educator accountability this year. In the coming months, the State Board will determine how the data will be used going forward.
The assessment uses a five-point score scale set by Maryland educators and others:
•Level 5 - Exceeded Expectations
•Level 4 - Met Expectations
•Level 3 - Approached Expectations
•Level 2 - Partially Met Expectations
•Level 1 - Did Not Yet Meet Expectations
At this time, MSDE defines scores at Levels 4 and 5 as demonstrating readiness for coursework in English and math at the next grade, with the goal of preparing students to enter college or career upon graduation.
On the English Language Arts/Literacy Assessment, 48% of students scored at a Level 4 and 5 combined, which are the two highest levels on the PARCC five-point score scale, compared to 40% of students across the state.
In mathematics, 34% of students scored at a Level 4 and 5 combined, compared with 30% in Maryland. Mathematics data is reported differently than in was in prior years for the Maryland School Assessment (MSA). Previously, students who were enrolled in algebra in 7th or 8th grade took both the grade-level MSA and the algebra High School Assessment. Under the new assessment model, students were not “double tested;” therefore, 7th and 8th graders who were enrolled in Algebra 1 or Algebra 2 took the PARCC assessment that corresponded to that course, not the middle school grade-level math assessment. Scores of those students are not reported in the data released today.
In future years, PARCC results will be available in early summer. That timeline will provide educators with more opportunities to make instructional adjustments based on the data.
PARCC results cannot be compared with the Maryland School Assessment (MSA), which the State used for a decade, both because this is a new test and a different test. PARCC is the first assessment aligned to Maryland’s College and Career Ready Standards, which set a higher bar for student learning.
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