Anne Arundel

Though Anne Arundel County exceeded statewide scores in reading and math in the Maryland School Assessments, only five of the county's 19 middle schools, or 26 percent, met the state's requirements for adequate yearly progress.

Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell said that the high percentage of schools whose scores dropped from the previous year left him "incredibly disappointed."

"I have faith in the talented and dedicated people in our schools who work tirelessly for the benefit of our children, but clearly what we are doing is not good enough," Maxwell added. "We all simply must do a better job, and we will continue to need the help of our parent, community and business partners to get where we need to be."

The middle schools' performances were a sharp contrast from the previous year, when 14 of 19 schools met AYP requirements. Moreover, six of the county's 78 elementary schools also failed to meet AYP this year; last year, all but one school made the mark.

Maxwell said that among the reasons for the lower scores are the rising standards and narrowing of what is accepted for appeal. Still, he said, the results not only disappointed but surprised him.

"Everybody is concerned about that rising bar as it goes to 100 percent for all categories for all student groups in a couple years," he said. "I'm disappointed, but I know that [the schools are] going to be disappointed, too. And I will be surprised if next year some of these schools aren't right back off of the list."

Overall, elementary student scores for the county were mixed, with 91.1 percent scoring proficient or advanced in reading, a 0.3 percentage point decline from last year, and 91.3 percent passing math, a 1.3 percentage point increase.

In middle schools, 85.7 percent of students passed reading, an increase of 0.3 percentage points, while 77.4 percent passed in math, a 1.7 percentage point decrease.

—Joe Burris

Carroll

Carroll County schools made modest improvements in most areas measured by the MSAs and again ranked solidly above the state average in most categories.

"With most of our rates in the 90s, we're not going to see 8- and 10-point improvements anymore, so we're pleased with these incremental improvements," said Gregory J. Bricca, director of research and accountability for Carroll County schools.

The county's pass rates declined in two areas, third-grade reading and eighth-grade math. Statewide scores declined in both areas as well. In third-grade reading, the county's rate of advanced and proficient scores fell from 89.8 percent to 88.7 percent. In eighth-grade math, the county's rate of advanced and proficient scores fell from 77.4 percent to 75.3 percent. The pass rates for eighth-grade math were the worst in any category by nearly 10 percentage points.

Bricca called the declines "minor" and said eighth-grade math has always been the most difficult test for students in Carroll and statewide.

Five Carroll schools — Robert Moton Elementary, Winfield Elementary, East Middle, West Middle and New Windsor Middle — failed to meet federal standards for adequate yearly progress. But the four Carroll schools that failed to meet adequate progress targets in 2009 cleared the standards this year, and the county has never had to place a school in the state school improvement program.

West Middle failed to meet progress targets for African-American performance in math. The failures at the other four schools came in special education.

The county made substantial improvements in some areas. In fifth-grade math, the rate of advanced and proficient scores climbed from 88.6 percent to 92.2 percent.

In sixth-grade reading, the rate rose from 91.7 percent to 94.4 percent. In seventh-grade reading, an area in which statewide scores hardly changed, Carroll's rate of advanced and proficient scores rose from 89.6 percent to 92.8 percent.

Bricca said he couldn't tie the improvements to specific initiatives. "We have traditionally come to expect improvement across the board," he said.

—Childs Walker

Harford

Officials in Harford County were pleased that students in the district maintained their strong proficiency rankings in reading and math — and that many traditionally underserved subgroups have boosted their performances.

"I'm particularly proud of the strides we have made in narrowing the achievement gap for students, especially our special-education and low socioeconomic students," Superintendent Robert M. Tomback said in a statement. "[They] should be commended for responding to, and in many cases exceeding, the high expectations set for them."

Overall, nearly 75 percent of the county's 32 elementary and nine middle schools made adequate yearly progress as defined by the state. Twenty of its elementary schools hit the 90 percent proficiency rate or higher in reading, and 21 did the same in math. Five middle schools reached 90 percent reading proficiency, the same as last year.

At the elementary level, scores fell slightly for third-graders in both math and reading, making that the only grade in the district that dropped in both categories — though each remained solid at 86.4 percent and 86.5 percent, respectively. Fifth-graders improved in both subjects, though, with a jump of 1.2 percentage points in reading (to 93.3 percent) and of 2.3 percentage points in math (to 88.7 percent).

In the middle schools, scores rose for every grade in both categories other than for reading in the seventh grade, where numbers fell less than a percentage point. Teri Kranefeld, a district spokeswoman, ascribed the overall progress to the middle schools' growing use of "data-driven decision-making," which allows educators to teach to the strengths of individual students.

"This shows it's working," she said.

Tomback saw it as a point of pride to note improvement at both schools in Edgewood, an area of the county that has lagged behind in the past. At Edgewood Elementary, where students in poverty make up 65 percent of the population, reading proficiency leaped 11 percentage points from the previous year, the district's biggest gain.

Edgewood Middle School made adequate yearly progress for the second straight year, earning removal from the "schools in improvement" list two years after a wholesale restructuring. African-American students, students in poverty and special-ed students all improved their aggregate scores, with special-ed students jumping 17 points. "Even attendance was up a little," Kranefeld said.

Five of the county's elementary schools did fail to achieve adequate yearly progress, including William Paca/Old Post Road and Magnolia elementary schools. Having failed to hit that mark for a second straight year, both must now offer students an option to transfer.

—Jonathan Pitts

Howard

Howard County's Clarksville Middle School ranked second among all state elementary and middle schools in passing percentage of Maryland School Assessment scores, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis, leading the way among several county schools whose marks rated among the best in the state.

"Wow, that's excellent," said Jose Stevenson, Howard County director of school assessment and program evaluation when told of Clarksville's ranking.

"Considering that it's becoming ever more difficult to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind, it's refreshing to see schools and teachers and students continue to improve their performances year in and year out," he added.

Clarksville, which has about 540 students, had a passing percentage of 97.8 percent. It was among five Howard County schools whose passing percentages ranked among the top 20 in the state.

Mount View Middle in Marriottsville ranked 10th overall. Lime Kiln Middle in Fulton ranked 12th, Burleigh Manor Middle in Ellicott City ranked 13th, and Folly Quarter Middle in Ellicott City ranked 18th.

Also, Bushy Park Elementary in Glenwood ranked 14th among all elementary schools. Each of the schools posted a passing percentage of 94.5 percent or above.

"We have a lot of schools scoring proficiently, in the above-90-percent level, particularly in reading," said Stevenson. "It's particularly good to see we're being effective in instructing our children."

Overall, 52 of the county's 58 public elementary and middle schools met adequate yearly progress, which is required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The number is, however, a drop from last year, when 54 schools met the requirement.

"When you get to a higher level of performance," said Stevenson, "and the increments of progress get smaller, it's not unusual for the numbers to dip slightly. In most cases, our schools missed the AYP by only a few students in one or two groups.

"School improvement in Howard County is continuous," Stevenson added. "Data show that our instructional strategies are working and that our educators know what to do to help every student succeed."

—Joe Burris