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MCAP results: Talbot reports strong 5th-grade growth and prepares for mSTAR rollout
Summary
Superintendent staff presented 2026 MCAP results to the board, noting top state growth in 5th-grade ELA and gains in Math; the district will transition to the state's new mSTAR assessment for grades 3–8 next year and continue cohort tracking to understand proficiency trends.
Dr. Einhorn briefed the board on 2026 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) results and the state's planned shift to the Maryland System of Testing Academic Readiness (mSTAR) for grades 3–8. She emphasized that while MCAP is changing, the district drills down to cohorts and subgroups to understand growth. "Our 5th graders showed significant growth in the highest growth in the state," she said, pointing to a strong year-over-year jump in fifth-grade ELA results.
The presentation laid out three-year trends by grade and subject, noted subgroup performance differences (raising concerns for multilingual learners and Black/African American students in several grades), and showed that the district’s English-10 cohort increased proficiency from 8th to 10th grade. Dr. Einhorn also highlighted anomalies in some high-school math areas tied to state-level changes in course sequencing and cautioned that small subgroup sizes (under five) produce suppressed data asterisks. The office will continue cohort tracking, present interim assessments and coordinate with curriculum staff to align instruction for the mSTAR format. Board members asked for follow-up on what drove 5th-grade gains and how device usage and instruction patterns might affect assessment performance.
