Maryland Report Card: Fewer schools at five-star status

South Dorchester and Warwick Elementary get four stars

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ANNAPOLIS – The Schools Report Card, released by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) on Wednesday, shows Dorchester County Public Schools is rebounding from the effects of the pandemic. District improvement was noted in 10 out of 13 areas scored by MSDE:

• Elementary Academic Achievement
• Elementary Academic Progress
• Elementary School Quality and Student Success
• Middle School Academic Achievement
• Middle School Academic Progress
• High School Academic Achievement
• High School Graduation Rate
• High School Progress in Achieving English Language Proficiency
• Readiness for Post-Secondary Success
• High School School Quality and Student Success

Ten out of 11 schools retained their previous star rating with three schools less than one percentage point from gaining another star: Mace’s Lane Middle School at .4 of a point, Sandy Hill Elementary at .5 of a point, and North Dorchester Middle at .7 of a point. Cambridge-South Dorchester High was 2.7 percentage points short of becoming a three-star school and Hurlock Elementary was 2.5 percentage points away from its fourth star. Notable gains were achieved by Hurlock Elementary School with an increase of 11.31 points, and Sandy Hill Elementary School with an increase of 10.22 points, both out of a possible 100 in the overall scoring criteria.

“The improvements noted, along with so many schools coming close to earning another star, make us optimistic that we’re heading in the right direction,” Dorchester County Superintendent of Schools Dave Bromwell said in a statement from DCPS. “However, our academic achievement is still below the state level, and it’s important that we continue our efforts to improve instruction and learning, as well as work with families to end chronic absenteeism.”

Report cards for all Maryland schools and districts are available at reportcard.msde.maryland.gov, along with resources to help understand and analyze them. The tools include a user guide and a one-page summary of calculations for elementary, middle, and high schools.

Although the majority of Maryland’s public schools experienced no change this year in the state Department of Education’s five-star rating system, there was a statewide decrease of schools which received top-star status.

According to data released Wednesday, 85 schools received five stars during the 2022-23 school year, compared to 215 schools from the 2021-22 school year.

One main reason for the difference stems from absenteeism, a measure in the rating system that wasn’t used two years ago because of chronic absenteeism related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new report cards also include an assessment of academic growth of elementary and middle school students and eighth-grade social studies scores from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP).

“This is a new baseline year for Maryland, in terms of where we are and where we want to be,” interim State Superintendent Carey Wright said in a statement. “Due to the difference in calculating results between the two school years, we cannot make perfect comparisons. However, we celebrate those districts and schools that showed success and we will continue to support those that faced challenges.”

This year’s report card shows 556 schools garnered a three-star rating, compared to 431 from two years ago. Schools with a four-star rating are nearly the same with 408 schools in the new report card, versus 413 from the 2021-22 academic year.

About 234 schools received a two-star rating, compared to 213 schools two years ago.

Twenty-five schools received a one-star rating, according to state data released Wednesday. Approximately 39 schools garnered a one-star rating two years ago.

Slightly more than 1,300 schools received between a one- to five-star rating based on a 100-point accountability system that awards each school up to five stars based on a formula that seeks to measure overall performance.

Schools that receive at least 75% of all possible points receive five stars.

Factors assessed in the report card system in elementary, middle and high schools include academic achievement, progress in achieving English language proficiency and school quality and student progress.

Academic progress is an additional measure for elementary and middle schools; graduation rate and readiness for postsecondary success are additional measures in high school.

The state began the star system in 2018 in response to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. The state released a second report card in 2019, but star ratings weren’t issued in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.

School system data

Dorchester County public schools have a total enrollment of 4,523. Stars earned were:

Elementary Schools

Choptank – 2, percentile rank 2

Sandy Hill – 2, percentile rank 11

Hurlock – 3, percentile rank 50

Warwick – 4, percentile rank 61

Maple – 3, percentile rank 19

Vienna – 3, percentile rank 31

South Dorchester – 4, percentile rank 69 (elementary), 99 (middle)

Middle Schools

North Dorchester – 2, percentile rank 39

Mace’s Lane – 1, percentile rank 4

High Schools

Cambridge-South Dorchester – 2, percentile rank 20

North Dorchester – 3, percentile rank 33

Dorchester Career & Technology Center - There is insufficient data to provide accountability results for this school.

Alternative and Special Programs

Judy Center – No data

New Directions Learning Academy – No data

Montgomery County public schools, the state’s biggest school system, housed the most schools with five stars at 24.

Nineteen schools received a five-star status in Baltimore County that includes Catonsville and Woodbridge elementaries and Catonsville High.

Howard County had 12 schools that received a five-star status, including Bonnie Branch, Elkridge Landing and Mayfield Woods middle schools, which were all four-star schools two years ago.

The state’s second largest school system, Prince George’s County, had three schools with five stars: Calverton Elementary, Beltsville Academy and High Point High School. According to the state report card, High Point garnered two stars in the 2021-22 school year and Calverton and Beltsville were three-star schools during that same year.

Prince George’s had 26 schools that received a four-star rating and had the highest number of schools with three stars at 107, according to state data.

Baltimore public schools recorded the highest number of schools with two stars at 50 and those with one star totaling 15.

The city did have two schools that received a five-star rating: Baltimore School for the Arts and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute.

“Our focus is on making transformational educational change for students,” state board President Clarence Crawford said in a statement. “While there are signs of progress and many successes to highlight, we must continue to focus on seeing real, improved outcomes for children.”

For more information on individual schools and other data, go to the Maryland Report Card.

This article includes content from a report by William J. Ford. It was republished with permission from Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription at marylandmatters.org.