Montgomery County Public Schools staff on Dec. 18 walked the Strategic Planning Committee through Marylands revised college and career readiness (CCR) standards and what the expanded measures mean for local reporting and supports.

Jenie Floyd, director of the department of college and career readiness, summarized Blueprint legislation Pillar 3 and the newly revised CCR business rules approved by the Maryland State Department of Education: the expanded definition uses multiple measures (for example, algebra course grade or proficiency, MCAP, SAT/ACT/PSAT, GPA in grades 1112, ASVAB career-aptitude thresholds, industry-recognized credentials, dual enrollment and AP/IB exam scores) to determine whether students are deemed college and career ready.

Keisha Addison said applying the expanded metrics to prior-year data increases the percentage of grade-10 students meeting CCR from "22.2 percent" under the earlier interim approach to "59.4 percent" using the expanded measures, and that the change raises rates across racial and special-population groups. Addison cited increases for Black students from 12.4% (interim) to 38.6% (expanded) and for Hispanic/Latino students from 7.9% to 30.9%.

Board members asked about comparability with the districts new grading regulations and whether the prior-year reapplication inflates results. "We applied the new rules to our prior-year data," Addison said, noting the presentation did not use current-year grades. Several members asked staff to produce midyear checks to show how the new grading policy affects CCR indicators.

Members also sought clarity on consequences and incentives. Floyd said there are no penalties to districts for low CCR rates: "These are aspirational goals... it is data that is reported and shared with the state, but there are no consequences." She added, however, that the state provides a financial contribution based on the number of students deemed CCR, creating a funding incentive.

Questions focused on equity of access to advising, CTE pathways and evaluation of contracted advising programs (MOCO CAP). Floyd said MCPS partnered with WorkSource Montgomery and Montgomery College to implement a Montgomery County career advising program and expects the state to supply an evaluation template for those locally contracted services.

Staff committed to return with midyear CCR checks, comparisons across districts when statewide data are available, and more detail on how the new metrics interact with local grading and monitoring plans. The committee took no formal action.