Dr. Carey Wright State Superintendent | Maryland Department Of Education
State assessment scores in Maryland have shown improvement in both mathematics and English language arts, according to the latest results from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) for the 2024-25 school year. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released these results during a recent State Board of Education meeting.
The assessments, which have been fully administered for four years following a shortened version in 2020-21 due to the pandemic, indicate that student performance is continuing to recover from learning loss experienced during that period. Since the 2021-22 school year, there has been a 5.5 percentage point increase overall, with English language arts (ELA) recovering more quickly than mathematics.
“Maryland students are making progress. For the third year in a row, we have seen performance increases,” said Dr. Carey M. Wright, State Superintendent of Schools. “We will continue to explore enhanced teacher resources, professional learning and student supports. I am excited that we’re headed in the right direction.”
Dr. Joshua L. Michael, State Board of Education President, commented on the significance of these gains: “Our latest MCAP results show modest but meaningful growth—especially for our economically disadvantaged students,” he said. “This progress proves that when we focus on the fundamentals, our efforts pay off. By raising expectations, sharpening curriculum, and strengthening instruction, we’re opening doors, because literacy and math unlock every other opportunity.”
English language arts proficiency has reached 50.8 percent this year—an increase from 48.4 percent last year and up from 45.3 percent two years ago. Mathematics proficiency rose to 26.5 percent compared to 24.1 percent last year and 21 percent two years prior.
The data also highlight specific improvements among certain groups: Black/African American students saw ELA performance rise by 3.2 percentage points to reach 39.4 percent; students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds improved ELA proficiency by 3.4 percentage points to reach 34.5 percent; nearly all student groups had slight increases in mathematics proficiency.
Despite these gains, achievement gaps remain between different groups of students—including multilingual learners, economically disadvantaged students, and those with disabilities—who continue to show lower proficiency rates compared with their peers.
Recently updated state standards in English language arts and mathematics—the first update in fifteen years—are expected to further support student success through new parent guides and professional development opportunities for educators as well as efforts to identify high-quality instructional materials across school systems.
State ELA and mathematics assessments are given annually for grades three through eight and once at the high school level; federal requirements also mandate science assessments at various grade levels statewide.
MCAP assessments are designed to measure mastery of state content standards so all students can be tracked for progress or provided additional resources if needed for remediation or enrichment purposes.
Detailed data at state-, district-, and school-levels will be available on the Maryland Report Card website today.
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