State releases MSA scores

With the release of the 2011 Maryland School Assessment results last week came the news that students across the state are achieving at their highest level ever. The MSA exams in reading and math are given to students in the third through eighth grade, and the results are ranked in the categories of basic, proficient and advanced. The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires all students be at least proficient in reading and math by 2014.

MSA scores for Laurel students in Prince George's County hovered around the state numbers, with some schools dipping below or rising above state averages.

At Bond Mill Elementary, 93.2 percent of third-graders, more than 95 percent of fourth-graders and 93.1 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading. In math, 93.2 percent of third-graders, more than 95 percent of fourth-graders and 90.3 percent of fifth-graders scored at the proficient levels.

Deerfield Run Elementary also scored well overall on the assessments, with 83.1 percent of third-graders, 93.3 percent of fourth-graders, 88.2 percent of fifth-graders and 87.9 percent of sixth-graders coming in at the proficient levels in reading. In math, 85.4 percent of third-graders, more than 95 percent of fourth-graders and 87.9 percent of sixth-graders scored at the proficient levels. However, in the fifth grade, only 59.2 percent of Deerfield Run students scored at the proficient levels.

Scores at Laurel Elementary varied by grade. In reading, 64.1 percent of third-graders, 91.5 percent of fourth-graders, 82.5 percent of fifth-graders and 70.6 percent of sixth-graders scored at the proficient levels. In math, 63.5 percent of third-graders, 64.3 percent of fifth-graders and 75 percent of sixth-graders scored at the proficient levels, but more than 95 percent of fourth-graders made the grade.

At Montpelier Elementary, 74.7 percent of third-graders, 91.9 percent of fourth-graders, 84.9 percent of fifth-graders and 78.9 percent of sixth-graders scored at least proficient in reading; and 75.9 percent of third-graders, 88.8 percent of fourth-graders, 87.2 percent of fifth-graders and 71.8 percent of sixth-graders score proficient or advanced in math.

At Oaklands Elementary, 64.6 percent of third-graders, 82.2 percent of fourth-graders, 72.9 percent of fifth-graders and 76.6 percent of sixth-graders scored proficient or advanced on the reading assessment. In math, 64.6 percent of third-graders, 77.8 percent of fourth-graders, 66.7 percent of fifth-graders and 53.2 percent of sixth-graders scored at the proficient levels.

At James H. Harrison Elementary, 64.9 percent of third-graders, 92.3 percent of fourth-graders, 94.4 percent of fifth-graders and 72.4 percent of sixth-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading, while 70.3 percent of third-graders, 94.9 percent of fourth-graders, 88.9 percent of fifth-graders and 79.3 percent of sixth-graders were proficient or advanced in math.

At Scotchtown Hills Elementary, 78.7 percent of third-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading, and 85.1 percent of third-graders scored proficient or advanced in math, while 91 percent of fourth-graders, 88.8 percent of fifth-graders and 81.6 percent of sixth-graders also scored proficient or advanced in reading. Scoring proficient or advanced in math were 92.2 percent of fourth-graders, 76.3 percent of fifth-graders and 83.9 percent of sixth-graders.

At Vansville Elementary, 89.5 percent of third-graders, 91.7 percent of fourth-graders and 92.9 percent of fifth-graders scored at proficient reading levels. In math, 89.5 percent of third- and fourth-graders and 83.2 percent of fifth-graders scored at proficient math levels.

At the middle school level, Laurel area students also performed well. At Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, 88.5 percent of sixth-graders, 91.5 percent of seventh-graders and 84.8 percent of eighth-graders scored at proficient reading levels. In math, 85 percent of sixth-graders, 86.3 percent of seventh-graders and 68 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle seventh-graders scored 82.1 percent proficiency in reading and 66.3 percent proficiency in math. Eighth-graders scored 72.6 percent proficiency in reading and 51.9 percent proficiency in math.

Eisenhower Middle, as well as Laurel, Oaklands and James Harrison elementary schools, did not reach the bench mark of Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, this year, used to measure schools' progress toward the No Child Left Behind proficiency goal.

Statewide, 88 percent of elementary school students scored at the proficient or advanced levels in reading, and 83.5 percent at the middle school level. In math, 86.3 percent of elementary students ranked at the proficient levels, as did 73.7 percent of middle schoolers.

Anne Arundel County

Students in Anne Arundel County Public Schools scored higher than state averages on the MSAs in all areas, with 92.3 percent of elementary school students receiving proficient or advanced scores in reading, up 1.2 percent points from last year, according to a release from the school system. Ninety-two percent of elementary students in the county scored at the proficient levels in math.

At the middle school level, 87.4 percent scored at the proficient or advanced level in reading and 78.4 percent scored at those levels in math.

At Brock Bridge Elementary, 86.1 percent of third-graders, 91.3 percent of fourth-graders and 91.6 percent of fifth-graders scored at proficient reading levels, while 93 percent of third-graders, more than 95 percent of fourth-graders and 88.7 percent of fifth-graders scored at proficient math levels.

At Maryland City Elementary, 76.7 percent of third-graders, 91.3 percent of fourth-graders and 94 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading; and 75.4 percent of third-graders, 78.7 percent of fourth-graders and 70 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced in math.

Maryland City Elementary, however, was one of 13 schools in the county that missed AYP for the first time.

Meade Middle also did not make AYP. At Meade, 81.8 percent of sixth-graders, 78.3 percent of seventh-graders and 80.5 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient in reading; and 72.4 percent of sixth-graders, 67.4 percent of seventh-graders and 61.9 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient in math.

Howard County

Howard County students also scored above state averages this year, according to a release from the school system, with 94 percent of all elementary students ranking proficient or advanced in reading. At the middle school level, that number was 92.6 percent. In math, 92.7 percent of elementary students and 87.3 percent of middle schoolers scored proficient.

At Forest Ridge Elementary, 84.7 percent of third-graders, 92.2 percent of fourth-graders and more than 95 percent of fifth-graders scored at proficient reading levels. In math, 89.5 percent of third-graders, 93 percent of fourth-graders and 90.2 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced.

At Gorman Crossing Elementary, 94.5 percent of third-graders, and more than 95 percent of fourth- and fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading, while more than 95 percent of third- and fourth-graders, and 91.6 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading.

At Hammond Elementary, more than 95 percent of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading, while more than 95 percent of third- and fourth-graders, and 93 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient in math.

Students at Hammond Middle School also did well, like their elementary counterparts, with 94.7 percent of sixth-graders, 94.2 percent of seventh-graders and 93.4 percent of eighth-graders scoring proficient or advanced in reading; and 91.2 percent of sixth-graders, more than 95 percent of seventh-graders and 90.1 percent of eight-graders scoring proficient in math.

Eighty-five percent of Laurel Woods Elementary third-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading, as did 89.8 percent of fourth-graders and 86.2 percent of fifth-graders. In math, 87 percent of third-graders, 91.8 percent of fourth-graders and 78.2 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient in math.

At Murray Hill Middle School, 91.3 percent of sixth-graders, 89.6 percent of seventh-graders and 92.5 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading; and more than 95 percent of sixth-graders, 89.8 percent of seventh-graders and 82.5 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient or advanced in reading.

"We're very pleased with the scores overall," said Rebecca Amani-Dove, director of student assessment and program evaluation for the Howard County Public School System. "Our students are performing at higher levels than they ever have before."

For more information on the Maryland School Assessments, go to mdreportcard.org.