The accomplishments of Carroll County students in the most recent Maryland School Performance Report were excellent. As in previous years, the scores were among the state's highest -- a reflection of a larger trend in Maryland in which rapidly suburbanizing counties have seen their test scores rise impressively.
More important, this year's scores showed considerable improvement, particularly among the third graders. As encouraging as they were, the results also showed that Carroll County's school system has plenty of room to grow.
The improved performance of county third graders in mathematics, social studies, science, writing and language use should put to rest questions about the validity of this ambitious assessment program. School administrators and teachers were able to use past results of these statewide tests to determine which aspects of the local curriculum needed attention. In the case of Carroll, it was the third graders.
Based on previous years' trends, local educators noted that third graders were lagging behind the standards set by the fifth and eighth graders. The third graders were scoring slightly above the state average on their exams, while the older children were ranking among the state's very best.
Armed with the knowledge that there must be some deficiencies in the third grade instructional program, the school system focused attention on improving it. Third-grade teachers received special training and extra planning time. Rather than engage in a lengthy process of revising the curriculum, the administration assembled the best teaching tips it could find and passed them on to teachers. The effort paid off, as Carroll's third graders have joined the older students among the top achievers on the state tests.
The performance assessment program is focused on "higher-order thinking" -- reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving. Improving these skills among third graders not only improves test results, but provides them a firmer foundation for subsequent learning.
The state test standards are among the nation's most ambitious. Carroll County, like every other Maryland jurisdiction, has yet to achieve all the goals. However, the county's steady improvement since the beginning of the program several years ago is a positive sign. It should also debunk the misinformed notion that the county's education system is failing its students.