MCPS students demonstrate steady academic growth in latest MCAP Results

Rockville, MD — (MCPS) students showed steady academic improvement during the 2025-2026 school year, achieving notable gains in science, mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) assessment.

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released complete MCAP results today. While the state showed stable gains, MCPS’ achievements stand out:

• For science 5 and science 8 combined results, MCPS student proficiency rose to 40.1%, a 4 percentage-point increase over the 2024-2025 school year, significantly outperforming the statewide average of 32.4%.
• In English Language Arts (ELA), MCPS student proficiency reached 58.5%, up from 57% in the 2024-2025 school year, remaining well above Maryland’s overall proficiency rate of 51.7%.  
• Across all Math assessments, 36.9% of MCPS students met proficiency,  an increase from 35.7% in the 2024-2025 school year, compared to the statewide average of 27.1%. 

MCPS is proud to report two consecutive years of performance growth on MCAP assessments. “We are far from finished, but this is really encouraging progress. We see clear and steady improvement in our proficiency across the board,” said Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor. “These results demonstrate clear momentum in areas like science and literacy. We are even seeing progress in critical areas of mathematics. By returning our focus to our foundation of instruction, our educators and students are building strong academic skills to drive long-term success. While this growth shows we are on the right path, we remain committed to building on this progress for every student in our district. Our teachers and school leaders deserve a lot of praise for these improvements and we look forward to more growth in the years to come.” 

MCAP assessments measure mastery of state content standards through standardized state-issued assessments. The assessments classify student achievement across four distinct tiers: Beginning, Developing, Proficient, and Distinguished. Percentages reported represent students who scored “Proficient” or above. MCAP assessments are challenging and a rating of “proficient” or higher shows significant mastery of grade-level content and skills. 

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Comprehensive data sets encompassing state, district, and individual school performance are available for public review on the Maryland Report Card website.