Improved High School Assessment (HSA) (MSA) scores highlight the release of data today on the Maryland Report Card.
The number of public school students passing the HSAs increased across the board, with increases ranging 5.6 percentage points to 13.2 percentage points depending upon the subject. Moreover, scores rose in school systems throughout the state.
New data on the report card includes the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) scores for grades 4, 6 and 7, given for the first time last year. Grades 4, 6 and 7 MSA data does not count toward school accountability under the federal No Child Left Behind Act until the 2004-2005 school year, but were used to set baseline proficient scores.
Also included in this release are school attendance figures and high school graduation rates. The report card does not include school system and state AYP information, which is being withheld until after systems have checked the new data for accuracy.
The Maryland Report Card is available online through a special MSDE Web site, www.mdreportcard.org.
. A preliminary list of schools that have not made AYP is available Here.
"This exceptionally deep report card site will help administrators, teachers, and parents track education in their schools and allow them to compare it with results from other schools and systems in the state," noted Nancy S. Grasmick, Maryland State Superintendent of Schools. "The data shows that Maryland schools have much to celebrate and have a greater understanding of where they must focus improvements in the coming year."
The HSA scores were previewed last week before the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education. The percentage of students passing the algebra assessment rose from 53.2 percent in 2003 to 58.8 percent this year; in biology from 54.3 percent to 60.9 percent; in English from 39.8 percent to 53.0 percent; and in government from 60.2 percent to 65.9 percent this year.