Howard County High School PARCC Test Results Exceed State Norms

November 5th, 2015

Results of the first annual PARCC assessments show Howard County high school students continuing to perform at levels that significantly outpace their peers across Maryland.

PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) is the first assessment aligned to Maryland’s College and Career Ready Standards, and sets a higher bar in evaluating student progress than the MSA and HSA assessments previously in use.

The new tests emphasize the need for students to demonstrate critical thinking, problem solving, and clear writing, and are designed to more accurately determine if students are on track to graduate ready for college or careers.

The PARCC uses a five-point score scale. Students performing at levels 4 and 5 are considered on track for college and career readiness. Because PARCC assessments are structured differently from the MSA and HSA, and are based on more rigorous standards, the results cannot be meaningfully compared with test results from previous years.

Testing at the high school level includes Algebra I and II, and English 10. The results show HCPSS students on average outpacing Maryland by more than 14 percentage points on the Algebra I assessment, with 45.9 percent achieving at levels 4 and 5 combined, compared to 31.2 percent for the state.

On the Algebra II assessment, HCPSS students outperformed their statewide peers by more than 15 percentage points, with 35.2 percent at levels 4 and 5 combined, compared to 20.2 percent of all test takers in Maryland. For the English 10 assessment, 45.2 percent of HCPSS are at levels 4 and 5 combined, compared to 39.7 percent of all test takers in Maryland.

Most individual HCPSS high schools also outperformed the state averages, with some schools showing especially noteworthy results. For example, Centennial High School significantly outperformed the state averages among students meeting or exceeding expectations by more than 43 percentage points for Algebra II, and Marriotts Ridge High School exceeded the state average by more than 27 percentage points for English 10.

“The PARCC is a big step forward for Maryland, because it gives us much more meaningful information for assessing learning progress and improving instruction,” said Superintendent Renee A. Foose. “The process of preparing students for college and career success begins in the early grades, and these results set a new baseline to help teachers and parents monitor student achievement over time.”

The full high school results are available at http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/. PARCC results for Grades 3–8 will be announced in December.