WCPS Sees Improvements In ELA Scores; Math Results Fall Short Of Pre-COVID Levels

NEWARK – Worcester County’s public schools performed better than many in the state, according to data released last week.

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) results last Thursday. The data highlights how students performed on assessments administered in the spring of 2022 for English Language Arts (ELA) and math.

“We have been focusing this past year on fidelity to our instructional resources, so this data really reassured us that our instructional delivery is strong and our teachers are doing an excellent job,” said Annette Wallace, the school system’s chief safety and academic officer for grades nine through 12.

Across the state, ELA scores showed a return to pre-pandemic performance. In Worcester County, student performance on the spring ELA assessments in grades three through eight topped all other school systems in Maryland with 64% of students scoring as proficient or higher, 20 points above the state average. At Ocean City Elementary School, 94% of third graders scored proficient or higher, 74.8 points about the state average. Countywide, 71.1% of third graders scored proficient or higher on the ELA assessment. When asked about Ocean City’s high proficiency rate, Wallace said officials were proud of the school’s performance but noted that all schools followed district-wide programming.

“Ocean City did perform very well and we are proud of the school’s performance,” she said. “One of the other areas we focus on is where did our students begin – as well as where they end on an assessment such as MCAP.  Some of the other schools in our district may not have performed on this final assessment of learning at the levels OCES students did as a whole, but their growth from the beginning of the year to the end based on iReady was tremendous.

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