{"id":88554,"date":"2026-02-18T13:21:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T18:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/?p=88554"},"modified":"2026-02-19T08:18:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T13:18:58","slug":"study-highlights-md-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/study-highlights-md-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"New 50-State Study Highlights Maryland\u2019s Progress in Modernizing High School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MEDIA CONTACT:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cherie Duvall-Jones, 410-767-8108<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><a href=\"mailto:cherie.duvalljones@maryland.gov\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cherie.duvalljones@maryland.gov<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>New 50-State Study Highlights Maryland\u2019s Progress in Modernizing High School<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><b>BALTIMORE (February 18, 2026)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 The XQ Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on rethinking high school, today released a new <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/policyactions.xqinstitute.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of high school policies in every state.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Future Is High School: A Strategy for State Leaders to Accelerate Learning, Work, and American Renewal<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> identifies 10 policy actions to make high school more rigorous, engaging, and career connected. With four policy actions in place and another underway, Maryland is building a strong foundation for students\u2019 future.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMaryland is leading the way in reimagining high school for the 21st century,\u201d said <\/span><b>Governor Wes Moore<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cOur students deserve an education that prepares them not just for graduation, but for the opportunities and challenges of the future. By aligning high school with more career pathways, expanding access to advanced coursework, and valuing real-world learning, we are building a system that works for every student and strengthens Maryland\u2019s workforce and economy. This is how we make Maryland the best place to learn, work, and thrive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The study highlights Maryland\u2019s leadership in these policy actions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Modernize how students earn credit \u2014<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Allowing districts to award credit for mastery rather than seat time by defining a credit as \u201csuccessful demonstration of a specified unit of study.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Align high school with college admissions \u2014 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expanding seamless pathways from high school to college by aligning diploma requirements with the admissions requirements at the University of Maryland.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Expand postsecondary coursework<\/b> <b><i>\u2014<\/i><\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Guaranteeing that every high school offers advanced coursework either in person or virtually, ensuring all students have access to college-level work.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Credit real-world learning \u2014 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Articulating a definition of work-based learning and guiding principles, including how students can earn credentials for coursework credit, along with establishing a robust definition for youth apprenticeships that includes technical coursework, industry standards, paid time, and a portable credential.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br>\u201cMaryland is committed to ensuring every student graduates prepared for college, career, and life,\u201d said <\/span><b>Dr. Carey M. Wright, State Superintendent of Schools<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cThis report affirms the progress we\u2019ve made in modernizing high school and highlights the importance of continuing to innovate. By expanding access to advanced coursework, aligning pathways to college, and recognizing real-world learning, we are building a system that meets the needs of today\u2019s learners and tomorrow\u2019s workforce.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report, which will be released every two years, underscores the need for strong implementation to ensure that educators, schools, and communities have the support needed to turn innovative policy into real impact.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cStates have more opportunity, responsibility and authority over public education than at any time in recent memory,\u201d said <\/span><b>Russlynn Ali, CEO, XQ Institute and Managing Director of the Education Fund at Emerson Collective<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cWith 344,000 jobs to fill each year, Maryland leaders recognize what\u2019s at stake\u2014and the role high school plays in preparing young people and investing in the state\u2019s future. Maryland knows that high school is the future of everything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This spring, XQ will embark on the first leg of its <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Future Is High School<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> bus tour, a national effort designed to elevate the voices of those closest to the work of transforming high school. The tour will be stopping in Maryland as part of a multi-phase effort to activate local expertise and showcase what is possible when communities lead.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visit the XQ Institute\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/xqsuperschool.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to learn more about the report.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">###<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MEDIA CONTACT:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cherie Duvall-Jones, 410-767-8108<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/span><a href=\"mailto:cherie.duvalljones@maryland.gov\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cherie.duvalljones@maryland.gov<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>New 50-State Study Highlights Maryland\u2019s Progress in <a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/study-highlights-md-schools\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8230;Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":255,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsreleases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/255"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88554"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88567,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88554\/revisions\/88567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}