None of the 22 MCPS Schools with High Poverty Are on
No Child Left Behind School Improvement Lists


Students at Highland Elementary School posted tremendous gains on the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) this year, enabling the school to leave Maryland’s list of schools in need of improvement. The progress at this school with high poverty levels has been possible through the concentrated efforts of a dedicated staff that has helped student scores rise by more than 40 percentage points over the last three years in some areas.

Last week, the Maryland State Department of Education announced that Highland made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the second consecutive year, which means that the school has been removed from the state’s corrective action list under the provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.

As of this year, no MCPS schools with high poverty (Title I) are on NCLB school improvement or corrective action lists. In five years, MCPS has moved from 10 to zero Title I schools identified for improvement. This is particularly noteworthy, given the large size of the school district and the high poverty rates, mobility rates, and percentage of English language learners enrolled in MCPS Title I schools. MCPS is the only large school system in the nation without a single one of its high poverty schools on a state’s “needs improvement” list.

In 2006 at Highland, nearly 78 percent of third graders were proficient in reading, compared with only 46 percent in 2005. Students in all grades showed marked improvement over the 2005 test scores.

“This is a significant achievement for students, staff, and families at Highland,” said Dr. Jerry D. Weast, superintendent of schools. “A range of effective strategies was used by the administration and staff at the school, with support from the central office administration, to provide students with the focused instruction and support that helped each student achieve at a higher level.”

Seventy-four percent of Highland’s students are Hispanic, and nearly 57 percent qualify for the subsidized meal program.


Highland Elementary School

Strategies to Improve MSA Scores


Increased use of small group instruction at all grades, especially in upper elementary grades
• Targeted staff development in literacy areas to improve reading instruction.
• Greater flexibility in use of reading materials.

Full Inclusion of Special Education and ESOL
• Access to mainstream curricula in math and reading.
• Daily meetings with ESOL specialists for instruction for English learners correlating with mainstream objectives.

Appropriate accommodations for eligible students
• Monthly test-taking with designated accommodators to help students develop a relationship with the accommodators.
• More accommodations, including dictation, offered to English learners than in previous years.
• Increased time accommodations for some English learners.

Frequent data reviews with all staff
• Increased informal and formal observations by administration.
• Weekly team planning for all grades.
• Formative and summative testing with data monitoring and analysis in reading and math, with re-teaching.


Monthly Steering Committee oversight from Office of School Performance, Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs, and Office of Organizational Development

Revised discipline policy to improve student behavior and attendance

Before- and after-school MSA clubs