Nearly 60% of Anne Arundel County Public Schools received either a four- or five-star rating, according to this year’s Maryland Department of Education report card released Thursday.
Twenty-eight county schools received five-star ratings, five more than in 2019, the last time ratings were announced. That’s roughly a quarter of the 116 county schools that received ratings. Another 41 schools received four stars. About 95% of county schools earned three stars or more.
The state’s accountability system, known as the Maryland Report Card, awards each school up to five stars based on a formula that aims to measure overall performance. The formula takes into account a variety of factors, including standardized test scores, absenteeism, graduation rates, quality of the curriculum, the progress of English language learners and student and educator surveys.
“These ratings are proof of the impact that our amazing teachers, administrators, school-based staff, and support staff are having on students at every level of our school system every day,” Superintendent Mark Bedell said in a news release. “As I have said since I began my tenure in Anne Arundel County Public Schools, this is a very good school district. We want to be great, and we will work as hard as we possibly can to be innovative and to do the things necessary to make these ratings even better next year.”
The state’s star rating system is tied to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, a bipartisan 2015 replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act. The state relaunched the federally aligned accountability system during the 2017-18 academic year. It released results again for the 2018-19 cycle before pausing the accountability measures due to the pandemic.
In 2019, Anne Arundel received the highest percentage of five-star schools out of the five largest jurisdictions in Maryland. Four years later, it added five more schools to the top tier. The scores released Thursday provide local school systems, families and communities across the state with a new look at the pandemic’s lingering impact on public education during the 2021-22 academic year.
The Evening Sun
Anne Arundel County tied Howard County for the number of five-star schools, ranking second in the state for top-rated schools. Montgomery County leads the state with 53 schools receiving a five-star rating.
Schools with five-star ratings:
- Severna Park High School
- Severna Park Middle School
- Elementary schools: Arnold, Belvedere, Benfield, Bodkin, Broadneck, Cape St. Claire, Crofton, Crofton Woods, Davidsonville, Deale, Edgewater, Folger McKinsey, Fort Smallwood, Four Seasons, Jones, Mayo, Millersville, Nantucket, Oak Hill, Pasadena, Severna Park, Shipley’s Choice, South Shore, Waugh Chapel, West Annapolis.
- Multilevel: Chesapeake Science Point
Slightly more than a quarter of Maryland schools earned fewer stars this year than before the pandemic. Preliminary results shared with the State Board of Education last week showed most public schools — about 62% — managed to hold onto their stars during the pandemic, with 26% losing a star and just 11% gaining a star in 2021-22, compared to 2018-19.
About 48% of all Maryland schools earned a four- or five-star rating, with middle schools performing at a lower level than elementary and high schools. More than 75% of state schools earned three or more stars.
A handful of schools did not meet the minimum requirements for accountability and were not rated as part of the report card. They include:
- Center of Applied Technology — North
- Center of Applied Technology — South
- Central Special School
- Carrie Weedon Early Education Center
- Ferndale Early Education Center
- Marley Glen School
- Mary Moss @ J. Albert Adams Academy
- Ruth Parker Eason School
- West Meade Early Education Center
A previous version of a table accompanying this article incorrectly stated how many 1-star schools and 3-star schools there are in Harford County. Baltimore Sun Media regrets the error.