Big News: PG County Schools Make Gains on PARCC Tests

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — It's been a rough few months for the Prince George's County Public School system, but students there just accomplished something big: they made gains on all but two Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests.

Overall, elementary and middle school students saw a 1.7 percent increase in English language arts and a 2.5 percent increase in mathematics. For high schoolers, there was a 3 percent and 1.2 percent increase in English and Algebra 1 results, respectively, although Algebra 2 dropped by 5.5 percent.

“Though slight, these gains are encouraging. We expect that more students will meet this significantly higher bar over time,” Dr. Kevin M. Maxwell, Chief Executive Officer of PGCPS, said in a statement. “Our performance is moving in the right direction, thanks to the hard work of teachers, principals and staff throughout the system. We are still focused on improving our overall performance levels. We will continue investing in resources that prepare all students for higher education and the workplace.”

PARCC is Maryland's accountability program, and the tests were administered at PGCPS this past spring. About 26 percent of elementary and middle school students met or exceeded standards on English language arts, versus 17 percent for math. For high schoolers, about 32 percent passed in English language arts, and 16 percent passed for Algebra 1.

Image via PARCC