Maryland Students Achieve Five-Year Highs in English Language Arts and Math Proficiency

Results from the most recent Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) indicate that student proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics has reached a five-year peak, according to the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). These findings, released during a State Board of Education meeting, reflect student performance during the 2025-26 school year and mark the final full administration of the MCAP before the state transitions to a new testing program.

Student proficiency in ELA saw an increase to 51.7 percent, a notable jump of 6.4 percentage points since the 2021-22 school year. Mathematics proficiency also demonstrated significant growth, rising from 21.0 percent in the 2021-22 school year to 27.1 percent. Gains were particularly pronounced in middle school ELA, with proficiency rates for grades six through eight reaching 51.8 percent, an increase of 8.4 percentage points over five years. Elementary students in grades three through five also showed improvement in mathematics, with proficiency rates climbing 6.0 percentage points to 35.8 percent during the same period. Overall, the 2025-26 results indicated steady performance with minor improvements from the prior academic year.

The implementation of MCAP preceded the launch of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future legislation by one year. The upcoming 2026-27 academic year will see the introduction of the Maryland System of Testing Academic Readiness (MSTAR) for third through eighth grades. This new assessment program is designed to feature a shorter test length, enhanced precision, updated accessibility options, and improved online reporting for families and educators. The transition to MSTAR aims to continue Maryland’s commitment to high-quality assessments that gauge student preparedness for college, career, and life. The MSTAR assessments for ELA and Mathematics in grades 3-8 are scheduled to begin with the Spring 2027 administration window.

The introduction of MSTAR will be a phased approach. For the 2027-28 school year, MSDE plans to transition high school ELA (Grade 10), Life Science, American Government, Science (Grades 5 and 8), and Social Studies (Grade 8) assessments from MCAP to MSTAR. Further expansions are anticipated, with Integrated Algebra I expected by the 2028-29 school year and Integrated Algebra II by the 2029-30 school year. These changes do not affect MCAP high school science or social studies assessments in the interim. The MCAP program itself was first fully administered in the 2021-22 school year, following a shortened version in 2020-21 and no assessment in 2019-20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MCAP replaced the Partnership for Assessment of College and Careers (PARCC) which was administered from 2015 to 2019.

The recent MCAP performance aligns with other indicators of academic progress in Maryland. State data suggests that Maryland’s recovery from pandemic-related learning disruptions ranks among the top five nationwide, with third-place standing for literacy growth and fifth for mathematics growth since 2022, according to the 2025 Education Scorecard. This report also recognized specific school systems for their advancements; Baltimore City, Frederick, and Worcester school systems were highlighted for significant progress in math and reading. Additionally, Anne Arundel and St. Mary’s school systems led the state in increased math performance, while Dorchester and Harford demonstrated gains in reading. National assessment results also show improvement, with fourth-grade reading scores rising from 40th to 20th nationally and eighth-grade mathematics scores climbing from 42nd to 38th nationally in the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Furthermore, chronic absenteeism has decreased, dropping from 31 percent in the 2021-22 school year to 25 percent in 2024-25, with preliminary data for the 2025-26 school year indicating continued progress. Detailed state, school system, and school-level data are available on the Maryland Report Card website.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the Maryland State Department of Education.

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