Twenty-eight schools earned five-star ratings, and 41 more earned four stars under the 2021-2022 Maryland Report Card five-star accountability system, according to data released by the Maryland State Department of Education recently. Nearly 25 percent of the 116 schools to receive ratings under the system earned a place on the top tier, and nearly 60 percent earned a place in the top two tiers.
The number of five-star schools in Anne Arundel County Public Schools has increased by five since the last ratings were released in 2019. In the most current ratings, 95 percent of AACPS schools earned three stars or higher.
“These ratings are proof of the impact that our amazing teachers, administrators, school-based staff, and support staff are having on students at every level of our school system every day,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell said. “As I have said since I began my tenure in Anne Arundel County Public Schools, this is a very good school district. We want to be great, and we will work as hard as we possibly can to be innovative and to do the things necessary to make these ratings even better next year.”
The ratings, calculated from data collected during the 2021-2022 school year, are the third issued using the metrics that are part of Maryland’s accountability system under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Report Card incorporates multiple school performance indicators and calculates them into a final score to arrive at a rating of one to five stars. While the specific indicators vary between the elementary, middle, and high school levels, a school’s score generally includes academic achievement; academic growth; school quality, which includes attendance, climate, and access to a well-rounded curriculum; college and career readiness; and the progress of English Language Learners. At the high school level, it also includes the graduation rate.
The following schools earned five-star ratings:
- High School: Severna Park
- Middle School: Severna Park
- Elementary School: Arnold, Belvedere, Benfield, Bodkin, Broadneck, Cape St. Claire, Crofton, Crofton Woods, Davidsonville, Deale, Edgewater, Folger McKinsey, Fort Smallwood, Four Seasons, Jones, Mayo, Millersville, Nantucket, Oak Hill, Pasadena, Severna Park, Shipley’s Choice, South Shore, Waugh Chapel, West Annapolis.
- Multi-level: Chesapeake Science Point
Schools Not Rated
Schools that do not meet the minimum requirements for accountability were not rated as part of the Maryland Report Card. In Anne Arundel County, those schools are:
- Center of Applied Technology – North
- Center of Applied Technology – South
- Central Special School
- Carrie Weedon Early Education Center
- Ferndale Early Education Center
- Marley Glen School
- Mary Moss @ J. Albert Adams Academy
- Ruth Parker Eason School
- West Meade Early Education Center
Complete Maryland Report Card results can be found here. Star ratings for all county schools can be found here.
