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State boards adopt amended three‑year education targets; teacher retention goal raised
Summary
The Maryland State Board of Education and the Blueprint for Maryland's Future AIB approved joint statewide targets — including 15 percentage‑point improvements in key literacy measures and a goal to halve chronic absenteeism — and amended retention targets to 78% after discussion and a unanimous vote.
President Clarence C. Crawford and AIB leadership opened a joint meeting of the Maryland State Board of Education and the Blueprint for Maryland's Future Accountability and Implementation Board on June 20, 2024, where the boards adopted a set of aligned statewide targets and measures intended to guide implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future.
The state superintendent and AIB staff proposed common targets across eight overlapping plan areas, including early childhood education, literacy, mathematics, college and career readiness (CCR), workforce diversity and retention, a career ladder for educators, chronic absenteeism and student support personnel. Jeff Sanderson of MSDE summarized the three‑year aims, including a proposed rise in third‑grade reading proficiency from 48% to 63% and a proposal to cut chronic absenteeism from 30% to 15% over the next three years.
During the discussion, board members pressed staff on definitions and methodology: chronic absenteeism was confirmed to follow the national definition (students missing 10% or more of enrolled days), baselines for many metrics use the 2022–23 school year, and target‑setting methods combined trend analysis, pre‑pandemic baselines and “ambitious” adjustments to reflect implementation of the Blueprint. Several members asked whether each local education agency (LEA) would be expected to meet the same percentage‑point increase; MSDE said LEAs would apply the statewide percentage‑point increase to their local baselines to set district targets.
Mister Bartley moved to adopt the proposed joint targets and the motion was seconded. After debate, the boards approved an amendment raising the proposed three‑year teacher retention target for both teachers of color and the overall teacher workforce to 78% and agreed to remove the counselor ratio target temporarily so MSDE could clarify definitions and supports. The chair recorded the boards’ votes as unanimous.
The boards and staff emphasized that targets are intended to be paired with supports: MSDE and the AIB described planned interventions such as literacy coaching, expanded tutoring pilots, math professional learning, data dashboards for progress monitoring and technical assistance to LEAs. Several board members requested clearer, published guidance on how MSDE will support LEAs in meeting workforce, retention and counselor‑ratio goals before the next school year.
The boards approved the targets and directed MSDE and the AIB to finalize guidance and monitoring materials, including dashboards and disaggregated reporting, so that districts and the public can track progress. The boards also instructed staff to return with clarified counselor definitions and strategies in short order. The joint targets will be used to set LEA‑level targets and monitor progress through 2025–26 and beyond.
