State MCAP Scores Reach Five-Year High in English Language Arts and Mathematics

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State MCAP Scores Reach Five-Year High in English Language Arts and Mathematics

Final MCAP administration for grades 3-8 shows continued rise in student performance for the 2025-26 school year.


BALTIMORE (July 28, 2026) – Results from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) for the 2025‑26 school year reached a five-year high as the state prepares to transition to a new testing program. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released complete MCAP results today during the State Board of Education meeting.

Student proficiency in English language arts (ELA) reached 51.7 percent, a 6.4 percentage-point increase since the 2021-22 school year, which was the first full MCAP administration. Mathematics proficiency reached 27.1 percent, up from 21.0 percent during the same time period. 

Among grade levels, student proficiency in middle school ELA and elementary mathematics experienced some of the largest gains over the last five years. ELA proficiency rates for sixth through eighth grades reached 51.8 percent — an 8.4 percentage point increase. Proficiency rates on the third through fifth grade mathematics tests increased 6.0 percentage points over five years, reaching 35.8 percent last school year.

Overall results of the 2025-26 school year remained steady with slight improvements from the previous year. 

The launch of MCAP preceded the implementation of the landmark Blueprint for Maryland’s Future legislation by one year. Last school year marked the fifth and final full MCAP administration; the newly designed Maryland System of Testing Academic Readiness (MSTAR) will start with third through eighth grades during the 2026-27 school year. 

“Throughout the history of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, students in every grade level continued to make gains in nearly every subject area,” said Dr. Carey M. Wright, State Superintendent of Schools. “Our students’ progress shows great potential. We will continue building on these results by targeting instructional coaching, tools and resources.”

“Maryland students have now shown steady, year-over-year progress, ranking among the fastest-recovering states nationally in reading and math,” said Dr. Joshua L. Michael, State Board of Education President. “These latest results confirm the gains are real and continuing. Sustained focus on classroom instruction, backed by the investments through the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future legislation, is how progress is made. We still have a long way to go, but we are moving in the right direction.”

This year’s MCAP results mirror other recent measures of academic progress in Maryland:

  • Maryland’s recovery from post-pandemic learning loss ranks among the top five rates nationwide. The state ranks third for literacy growth and fifth for mathematics growth since 2022, according to the 2025 Education Scorecard.

  • The Education Scorecard highlighted the Baltimore City, Frederick, and Worcester school systems for showing substantial progress in math and reading. Additionally, the report recognized the Anne Arundel and St. Mary’s school systems for leading the state in increased math performance, and Dorchester and Harford for reading gains.

  • Results on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, have significantly improved, highlighted by fourth-grade reading scores rising from 40th to 20th in the nation. Results in eighth-grade mathematics climbed from 42nd to 38th in the nation.

  • Chronic absenteeism dropped from 31 percent in 2021-22 to 25 percent in 2024-25. Preliminary data from 2025-26 suggests additional progress.

State, school system, and school‑level data will be published on the Maryland Report Card website today.

State Assessment Changes

The 2026-27 school year will mark the first phase of MSTAR implementation in Maryland. Informed by the recommendations of the MSDE Assessment and Accountability Task Force, the new MSTAR will include shortened test length, improved precision, updated accessibility features, and enhanced online reporting for families and educators.

The transition to MSTAR reflects Maryland’s continued commitment to providing high-quality assessments that measure student readiness for college, career, and life success while supporting meaningful instructional decision-making. Beginning with the Spring 2027 assessment administration window (March 29-May 28), Maryland will transition to MSTAR assessments for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics in grades 3-8. 

There will be no changes to the MCAP high school assessments, science assessments, or social studies assessments during the 2026–2027 school year. 

During the 2027–28 school year, MSDE will transition the High School English Language Arts (Grade 10), Life Science, American Government, Science (Grades 5 and 8), and Social Studies (Grade 8) assessments from MCAP to MSTAR. 

Integrated Algebra I is anticipated to be introduced by the 2028–2029 school year, followed by Integrated Algebra II by the 2029–2030 school year.

The 2021-22 school year marked the first full administration of MCAP. A shortened version of MCAP was administered during the 2020-21 school year. No assessment was given in the 2019-20 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MCAP was preceded by the Partnership for Assessment of College and Careers (PARCC), which was administered from 2015 to 2019. 

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