94 Percent Of Howard County Schools Receive High Marks On Maryland Report Card

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The Maryland State Department of Education has released Maryland Report Card data for each Howard County school.

The state’s online Maryland Report Card, which also includes star ratings for each school based on the data, includes several primary differences in the most recent ratings from recent years. The report card has returned to pre-pandemic chronic absenteeism calculations, a new academic progress measure for the middle school social studies assessment and updated growth calculations for English language arts and mathematics assessments for elementary and middle school, according to the Howard County Public School System.

The state is using this year’s report cards and star ratings as the new baseline moving forward as results are not comparable to previous years. In Howard County, 57 percent of schools received a four- or five-star rating and 94 percent earned three-, four- or five-star ratings. Across the state, 37 percent of schools received a four- or five-star rating and 79 percent of schools received a three-, four- or five-star rating, HCPSS shared.

A school's rating is informed using a 100-point system that evaluates each school's academic achievement, graduation rate, English language proficiency, readiness for postsecondary success, school quality, and student success. The Howard County Public School System will use this year’s baseline data to evaluate progress in subsequent years, the district noted.