Just One Five-Star School In Carroll, Down From Twelve, After State Changes Scale For Some Measures
Carroll County had twelve five-star public schools in 2022. But in 2023, only one remains.
This after the Maryland State Department of Education changed certain measures in the Public Schools Report Card that was reviewed in April during a Board of Education meeting in Westminster.
The Report Card assesses schools based on a variety of indicators, including Academic Achievement, Academic Progress, and School Quality and Student Success. Within each indicator are measures where points are accrued.
Some measures are strictly academic, like the percent of students proficient in math, while others are non-academic, like student surveys inquiring about “emotional safety.”
Schools earning 75% or more of points available are awarded a five-star rating.
For Carroll, a district where people come to live for “great schools and safe streets,” as Superintendent Cynthia McCabe put it during an April joint meeting with the Board of County Commissioners, earning top ratings can be a source of pride.
Twelve Carroll schools met or exceeded the 75% mark in 2022: Carrolltowne, Eldersburg, Freedom District, Friendship Valley, Hampstead, Linton Springs, Manchester, Mechanicsville, Piney Ridge, Spring Garden, Century, and Liberty.
But in 2023, only Piney Ridge maintained its top rating.
Board member Donna Sivigny observed that the year-over-year drop was caused mostly by one indicator, Academic Progress, whose measures moved partially from a formula to a point scale this year.
“The formula to the point scale, what exactly, can you remind me what that meant,” Sivigny asked Dr. Kendra Hart, Carroll schools' Supervisor of Title I, Testing, and School Performance, who was presenting the state’s data, “because that seemed to have a significant impact on a lot of our scoring.”
“It did, and we don’t have a clear understanding,” Hart responded. “We’ve been working with MSDE to build our understanding.”
Sivigny continued, curious how Academic Achievement scores could be mostly up in Carroll, while Academic Progress scores could be down. “It doesn’t feel real that we had a decrease in score,” she remarked.
The Academic Achievement indicator includes measures for the percent of students proficient in math and English Language Arts. Carroll remains a leader for the indicator statewide, especially for elementary schools where the district is second only to Worcester County.
While measures for the Academic Progress indicator are based more on progress from a prior point. With the change from a formula to a point scale, Carroll saw significant drops in scores. Elementary schools saw a decrease from a 28.2 out of 35 in 2022 to a 21.2 in 2023.
Carroll also saw drops in the School Quality and Student Success indicator, though not as significant as those observed for Academic Progress. For elementary schools, the score for the indicator went from a 27.1 out of 35 to a 25.4.
School Quality and Student Success includes measures for chronic absenteeism, which was added back in this year after a pandemic hiatus, school surveys, and “access to a well-rounded curriculum.”
Statewide, changes to the Report Card resulted in there being 60% and 35% fewer one-star and five-star schools year-over-year respectively, with a 10% and 29% increase in two-star and three-star schools.
Board member Steve Whisler wondered if the Report Card changes were meant to cluster more schools in the middle of the performance spectrum, with fewer at the very bottom and fewer at the very top.
“Are they doing it to kind of bring everybody to the middle,” he asked. “It will bring those at the bottom up and it will bring those at the top, like us, down.”
“Some parts are subjective, and that gives a false narrative,” Board president Marsha Herbert added. “I’m very proud of our schools here in Carroll County.”
MSDE was contacted via email in request for comment on this story but has yet to respond.