Maryland says new MCAP scores hit five-year high in English and Math
Maryland education officials announced Tuesday the state's latest MCAP scores for the 2025-2026 school year reached a five-year high for some grade levels in English and math.
Data from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) was released by the State Board of Education (MSDE). The announcement came as Maryland prepares to transition to a new testing program for students across the state.
In a news release, the MSDE said student proficiency in English language arts (ELA) hit 51.7%, a 6.4 percentage-point increase since the 2021-22 school year. Mathematics proficiency during the same period reached 27.1%, a rise of 21%
"Among grade levels, student proficiency in middle school ELA and elementary mathematics experienced some of the largest gains over the last five years," the board reported.
ELA proficiency rates for sixth through eighth grades reached 51.8%, an increase of 8.4%, the board said. Proficiency rates for math for third through fifth grade students rose 6 percent over five years, reaching 35.8% during the last school year.
"Throughout the history of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, students in every grade level continued to make gains in nearly every subject area," Maryland's State Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Carey M. Wright, said in a statement.
"Maryland students have now shown steady, year-over-year progress, ranking among the fastest-recovering states nationally in reading and math," Dr. Joshua L. Michael, the State Board of Education President, said.
Overall, the latest MCAP results showed that results of the 2025-2026 school year remained steady, with only slight improvements over the previous year.
Racial disparity in MCAP
The latest report reflected continuing disparities among different student groups. For example, while White students showed a math proficiency rate of 42.2%, Black students lagged behind with a proficiency rate of 14.9%. The latest rate for Black students did show a rise from 9.3% in 2022.
Latino students also showed a math proficiency of 14.9%, compared with 10% in 2022.
In ELA, White students showed a proficiency rate of 68.7%, while Black students came in at 40.7%. Latinos had an ELA proficiency rate of 35.1%.
New standardized test coming
Maryland education officials had previously announced plans to move from MCAP to a new testing system, called MSTAR, during the 2026-2027 school year.
The MSDE says the new assessment is designed to "include shortened test length, improved precision, updated accessibility features, and enhanced online reporting for families and educators."
The school board noted that there will be no changes to MCAP for high school or assessments for science or social studies during the 2026–2027 school year.