Lighthouse Schools Show Positive Results: BCPS

TOWSON, MD — From Baltimore County Public Schools: Students in Baltimore County’s Lighthouse Schools have had greater cumulative proficiency growth in mathematics and English/language arts than students in three comparison districts and the state of Maryland, according to an evaluation by the Johns Hopkins School of Education’s Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE). The Lighthouse students were performing below the state average and now are performing at or above the state average.

The evaluation results were presented to the Board of Education of Baltimore County at its January 9 meeting and are an addendum to CRRE’s third year evaluation of S.T.A.T. (Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow). Lighthouse Schools are the Baltimore County public schools in which S.T.A.T. has been fully implemented. S.T.A.T. is a multi-year transformation of curriculum and instruction, which places greater emphasis on critical thinking and analytical skills in a student-centered, technology-rich environment.

“We were expecting S.T.A.T. to make an impact on student achievement only for Grade 3 students, whose participation began in 2014 – 2015,” said BCPS Interim Superintendent Verletta White. “We are very pleased that Lighthouse Grades 4 and 5 students, who are only in their second year of S.T.A.T. implementation, also showed progress and are clearly on the path toward greater gains.”

To evaluate student achievement, the researchers compared Lighthouse students’ scores from 2014 – 2015 to 2016 – 2017 on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) to student scores in Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties and Maryland averages.

PARCC Mathematics Proficiency Change, 2014 - 2015 to 2016 - 2017

PARCC English/Language Arts Proficiency Change, 2014 - 2015 to 2016 - 2017

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