Garrett County Public Schools (GCPS) has received updated report card data, star ratings, and informational resources for the 2023-23 school year from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). The results for this year have returned to usual testing standards, setting the new baseline for Maryland Public Schools. As such, GCPS has experienced a slight change in our school’s star ratings, along with the rest of the state.
The calculation of school ratings for the 2022-2023 school year includes three changes from the prior year. In addition to the new eighth-grade social studies assessment’s inclusion in the Academic Progress indicator for middle schools, the elementary and middle school Academic Growth measure, and Chronic Absenteeism at all school levels returned to pre-pandemic calculation methods.
Schools earn between one and five stars based on the percentage of points earned across a series of indicators. The indicators for elementary and middle schools are Academic Achievement, Academic Progress, Progress in Achieving English Language Proficiency, and School Quality and Student Success. For high schools, the indicators are Academic Achievement, Graduation Rate, Progress in Achieving English Language Proficiency, Readiness for Postsecondary Success, and School Quality and Student Success.
GCPS has attained the following results: Five-star schools – one (1); four-star Schools – nine (9); and three-star schools – two (2). Ten schools earned the top two ratings of four or five stars, marking 83% of GCPS schools, while only 37% of schools state-wide attained such results.
“We are extremely proud of GCPS’s performance as we look at individual school results across the county,” stated Dr. Brenda McCartney, GCPS Interim Superintendent. “However, we understand the importance of maintaining this level of excellence and will strive to improve our academic outcomes further. Additionally, we will have a heightened focus on reducing the chronic absenteeism rate.”
This is the fourth year of School Report Cards and the star ratings system. To view county or school-specific data, please visit the Maryland Report Card: https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/.
