SNOW HILL – The latest test results show that Worcester County students continue to perform at high levels.
In a presentation to the Worcester County Board of Education, officials reported that Worcester County Public Schools ranked first and second on the Eastern Shore in English language arts and math through the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program.
“We’re excited about what we’re seeing,” said Amy Gallagher, coordinator of accountability and assessment for the school system.
Students in grades three through eight and students in selected courses in high school participate in testing each school year. Data is released by the state each August.
In the area of English language arts, Worcester ranked first on the Eastern Shore in grades three, four, seven, 10 and 11. Worcester ranked second on the Eastern Shore in grades five, six and eight.
In math, Worcester ranked first on the Eastern Shore in grades three and seven. Worcester ranked second on the shore in grades four, five, six and eight.
Gallagher said the school system could reach out to other jurisdictions to explore what they were doing. She pointed out that in most areas where Worcester was not first on the Eastern Shore, it had only been outperformed by Carroll County.
“That’s an opportunity for us to talk to our colleagues and see what’s happening across the state,” she said.
Educators said that Worcester students had performed above the state average in all categories.
“We across the board are outperforming the state,” said Cassidy Hamborsky, the school system’s coordinator of literacy.
As far as state rankings in reading, Worcester ranked first in third grade and seventh grade. In math, Worcester ranked first in the state in third grade and seventh grade.
“I think we can all agree we’re in a really great place,” said Chief Operating Officer Annette Wallace. “If we could close our achievement gap with our minority students we’d be number one across the board.”
