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Math gains uneven across MCPS; instructional math coaches cited as effective where schools implemented curriculum study and coaching
Summary
MCPS released fall MAP math results showing little overall change from last year but highlighted pockets of growth in schools that used instructional math coaches and sustained planning cycles; staff described expansion and state changes to course sequencing that will require ongoing teacher support.
Montgomery County Public Schools told the board on Jan. 9 that fall Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) math data were largely flat systemwide compared with the prior year, but district leaders said targeted coaching and stronger planning and progress‑monitoring cycles produced promising results at some schools.
Carla Britt, a central math supervisor, opened the district math update by noting that kindergarten cohorts were starting the year with lower readiness in math than expected and that the district must focus on early numeracy because mathematical learning is sequential.
The presentation highlighted two models where central, job‑embedded coaching showed measurable returns. Kylene Toomey, an elementary instructional math coach, described her work at Strawberry Knoll Elementary where she coached first‑grade teachers, then “looped” with the same cohort into second grade and tracked student progress. She said the continuity allowed the team to raise planning and instruction expectations and to measure cohort growth year to year.
At the middle‑school level, secondary math coach Patty Swift described work at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School: teachers plan with a focus on short formative checks ("cool downs") and the lesson synthesis, select aligned activities and pre‑plan scaffolds for emergent multilingual learners and students with IEPs. Swift said teachers protected collaborative planning time and that the school’s grade‑level teams had raised expectations for lesson design and student discourse, which correlated with strong student growth percentiles on NWEA MAP.
District leaders said the core elements that appear to produce growth are: protected, routine curriculum study; content‑focused professional learning; job‑embedded coaching that follows planning to instruction and progress monitoring; and school leaders who set clear expectations and protect planning time.
Carla Britt also told the board the Maryland State Department of Education is revising secondary math standards and moving toward an integrated high‑school sequence; MCPS staff said they will need to provide additional teacher training and coaching to support the transition over the next several years.
Ending
Staff said the district will continue to invest in job‑embedded coaching and strengthen connections between planning, instruction and data monitoring; board members requested school‑by‑school follow‑up and clearer measures of where coaches have produced the largest gains.
