Talbot County scores show mixed results on MCAP; district stresses multiple measures and new standards

Talbot County Public Schools officials reported mixed results from the most recent Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) testing, telling the school board that overall proficiency dipped in English/language arts while showing modest gains in mathematics and small improvements in early grades.

Doctor Einhorn, the district academic presenter, said the district’s overall MCAP ELA proficiency for 2024–25 was 45.4 percent, a 1.9 percentage-point decrease from the previous year. “For all TCPS students assessed in MCAP ELA last year, 45.4 percent were proficient in English language arts,” Einhorn said. She highlighted grade-level variation: “grades 5 and 8 have seen the most significant decrease in percent proficient in ELA over the 3 years, and grades 3 and 4 have seen the greatest increase.”

Why it matters: MCAP is the state’s accountability assessment, and board members pressed for context on whether the year-to-year comparisons track cohorts or single grade snapshots. Einhorn said the state presentation compares third grade to third grade across…