OPINION:
Strong, independent journalism plays an important role in holding public institutions accountable, and scrutiny of our schools is essential.
Chris Papst asks important questions about the performance of Maryland’s public schools (“Maryland’s public schools a failure factory,” Web, March 9). But his analysis relies on a narrow slice of the data and misses the broader trajectory. National data tell a more complete story.
Looking across the four National Assessment of Educational Progress assessments in fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading, Maryland experienced a troubling decade. Between 2011 and 2022, the state saw the largest decline in national ranking of any state, falling roughly fourteen places on average across the four tests as the national rankings reshuffled.
Maryland’s leaders didn’t ignore that reality. The General Assembly responded by passing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a long-term strategy to strengthen teaching, expand early childhood education and invest more in schools serving students in poverty. Implementation started in 2022.
Gov. Wes Moore has reinforced that commitment and the State Board of Education conducted a national search that brought Dr. Carey Wright to Maryland to lead the work.
The most recent results suggest the trajectory may be changing. Between 2022 and 2024, Maryland improved its national ranking on three of the four National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments, including a 20 -place jump in fourth-grade reading.
Averaged across the four tests, Maryland ranks among the top five states nationally in improvement during the most recent cycle. And its state assessments show similar patterns. More recent Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) results administered since the January 2024 NAEP assessment suggest that achievement is beginning to stabilize and improve, with some of the strongest gains happening among students in high-poverty schools.
These results reflect the early impact of major reforms now underway in Maryland, including stronger literacy and math instruction and expanded career-connected learning and apprenticeship pathways for high school students.
The challenges Mr. Papst highlights are real, and pockets of failure must be addressed. But describing Maryland’s schools as a “failure factory” ignores the broader trend. After a decade of decline, Maryland enacted a serious plan for improvement. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and aligned state leadership have us moving in the right direction.
JOSHUA L. MICHAEL
President, Maryland State Board of Education
Baltimore, Maryland
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