In Somerset County, students are bettering their reading skills while struggling to make similar strides in math.

It’s a small slice of the state’s big picture, where math proficiency rates lag far behind literacy but are still improving bit by bit.

Last week, the state released scores for the annual exam given to students in grades 3–8 and some high school classes known as the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, or MCAP. While nearly every single grade made improvements in both literacy and math statewide, English Language Arts scores continue to far outstrip math performance.

With fewer than 3,000 students, Somerset County is the second-smallest district in the state. The district bills itself as “small but mighty,” and this year emerged as the second-most-improved district for English scores.

Somerset recently drew outsized attention as parents and teachers fought a MAGA-aligned takeover of its school system. Rep. Andy Harris threatened to get the Trump administration to withhold federal education funds from Maryland unless the state butted out of the board’s attempt to remove Somerset County Superintendent Ava Tasker-Mitchell.

But at an Aug. 19 board meeting, Tasker-Mitchell — who did not respond to an interview request — sat beside the board members who have sought her dismissal and praised students and staff for movement in the latest round of scores. Although Somerset posted some of the lowest proficiency rates in Maryland, the county outpaced the state’s English improvement numbers.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Tasker-Mitchell said. “But we have to still celebrate the small wins.”

Here are five takeaways from a Banner analysis of Somerset’s school test data.

Doubling the state’s reading improvements

Somerset County was the state’s second-most-improved district in English, coming in behind Dorchester County, a slightly larger system.

Smaller school districts are prone to wider test score swings from one year to the next. With smaller student bodies, a one- or two-percentage point change can be driven by just a handful of students’ results.

In this year’s scores, four of the seven biggest year-to-year shifts in either English or math pass rates happened in districts with around 7,000 students or fewer.

Somerset County students made a 4.7 percentage point jump in their overall reading score, nearly double the 2.4 percentage point improvement across all of Maryland.

The district’s English proficiency rate was the second-lowest in Maryland, at 35.1%, ahead of just Baltimore City. The state posted a 50.8% proficiency rate.

Barely any movement for math

Somerset County has the state’s lowest math passing rate, at 10.1%. It also posted the second-smallest gain in the subject, at just 0.3 percentage point growth, behind only Calvert County with 0.2 percentage points.

The state improved by 2.4 percentage points, though Maryland students overall really struggle with their numbers.

Sixth graders had the strongest math improvement in Somerset, at 5.3 percentage points to reach 10.6% proficiency. They were the third-most-improved in the state compared to other sixth graders.

Third graders shine

Somerset’s third graders made the 5th-largest English gains of any grade level in the state, with 10.6 percentage point growth to 41.7% proficient. The county’s tenth graders were the only grade level to score a higher proficiency rate, at 47.6%.

Third graders also held the county’s highest math proficiency score, at 25.1%. That’s 15 points ahead of the next-highest-scoring grade level in the district.

Sixth graders also hit double-digit English gains, at 10 points, and tenth graders nearly did, with a 9.9 percentage point increase.

One of few to lose ground

Somerset County was one of five districts to post declines in its elementary level math scores.

While Somerset’s third graders led the district’s math pack, overall, the county’s elementary level test takers declined by 0.8 percentage points with 15.2% ranked as proficient. They were also the lowest-performing elementary students in the state on the math test.

Big moves for high schools

The county’s only two high schools with MCAP results, Crisfield High School & Academy and Washington High School & Academy, posted large increases in their high school English scores: 11.5 percentage points and 8.1 percentage points, respectively.

At Crisfield, their high school proficiency stands at 57.4%, nearly the state average for high schoolers, and Washington Academy scored 40.9%.

Both schools have increased their English pass rates by double digits since 2022. In the case of Crisfield, the rate increased by more than 20 points.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.