Anne Arundel County Public Schools officials presented the district
2024-25 Maryland ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) accountability results at a board workshop and described how the district will use the data for school improvement while flagging limits in state-supplied assessment detail.

Kelly Katzenberger, chief accountability officer for Anne Arundel County Public Schools, and Michelle Hall, director of school improvement data, walked the board through the district
ESSA house framework used to organize accountability metrics, including foundation measures such as chronic absenteeism and the Maryland School Survey and top-level MCAP ELA and math performance.

The presentation laid out how each metric contributes to a school
house score: chronic absenteeism (15 points), the Maryland School Survey (10 points; seven student/three educator), access to a well-rounded curriculum (10 points), growth measures for elementary and middle schools (25 points split between ELA and math), and MCAP performance (20 points for elementary/middle, 30 for high school). Katzenberger and Hall said those rooms map to AACPS
strategic-plan priorities and that each school received an individualized house to guide 2025-26 improvement planning.

Districtwide results showed gains and relative strength in several areas: AACPS elementary schools averaged 64.2 points, middle schools 56.2 and high schools 58.3. Presenters reported that 95% of AACPS schools are rated three stars or higher versus 86% statewide; 16 schools gained a star and 12 lost a star in the 2024-25 report. AACPS elementary schools rose to seventh in the state and middle schools to sixth; high schools ranked 12th. Katzenberger and Hall highlighted postsecondary readiness and school quality as strengths and identified English‑learner proficiency, MCAP math performance and chronic absenteeism as priorities for improvement.

Board members used the Q&A to press presenters on implementation and data limitations. Mister Silkworth thanked staff for progress but said chronic absenteeism and the climate-survey scores concerned him and asked whether attendance regulations were being enforced and what best practices could be shared. Katzenberger described a districtwide attendance committee that is creating more systemic responses and said school teams use progress-monitoring to identify students and connect them with resources.

Several board members and one student speaker asked about whether punitive tardiness or late policies discourage attendance. An unidentified student described a pattern in which students choose to skip class rather than risk a harsher consequence for being late; board members requested that staff follow up with cluster-level information and review local policy.

A recurring technical issue in the discussion was the lack of item-level MCAP data. Board member (referred to in the transcript as Member 6) and others urged the district to advocate for item analysis so teachers and schools can know which question types or content students miss. Speaker 2, who said they serve on the state assessment task force, explained that Maryland currently uses adaptive assessment models that make traditional item analysis difficult but said the state is working with an assessment think tank to redesign assessments to provide item-level feedback and faster data returns.

Presenters and Dr. Bedell emphasized the limits of comparability across years as Maryland prepares a revised accountability system the state may begin rolling out as early as 2026-27. Katzenberger warned that the next iteration could change weights and metrics and make direct historical comparisons difficult; board members said they favor consistency in calculations over time but acknowledged the potential need to shift weight toward growth measures to reduce punitive effects on schools serving higher-need populations.

The board requested additional cluster-level breakdowns, more clarity on allowable versus non-allowable absences (Katzenberger clarified that, for the state's chronic-absence calculation under ESSA, excused and unexcused absences are treated the same), and follow-up on whether school tardiness policies are discouraging seat-time. No formal motions or votes occurred during the workshop.

The board closed by thanking staff and noting an upcoming budget presentation that will provide more detail on related supports. Staff said they will post updated strategic scorecard information and continue to align school improvement plans with the ESSA-house metrics.

Sources: presentation by Kelly Katzenberger, chief accountability officer, and Michelle Hall, director of school improvement data, during the Anne Arundel County Board of Education workshop on the district
2024-25 Maryland accountability report.