Montgomery County Public Schools students continued to make academic gains during the 2025-2026 school year, according to the latest Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) results released Tuesday by the Maryland State Department of Education.
MCPS reported improvements across science, English Language Arts (ELA), and mathematics, marking the second consecutive year of overall growth on the state assessments. Among the highlights:
- Science proficiency (combined science 5 and science 8) increased to 40.1%, up four percentage points from the previous school year. The statewide average was 32.4%.
- English Language Arts proficiency rose to 58.5%, up from 57% last year and above the statewide average of 51.7%.
- Mathematics proficiency increased to 36.9%, compared to 35.7% in 2024-2025. The statewide average was 27.1%.
“We are far from finished, but this is really encouraging progress. We see clear and steady improvement in our proficiency across the board,” Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor said. “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.”
Taylor added that while the district is encouraged by the results, MCPS remains committed to improving outcomes for every student and credited teachers and school leaders for the continued progress.
The MCAP assessments measure students’ mastery of Maryland’s academic standards and classify achievement into four performance levels: Beginning, Developing, Proficient, and Distinguished. The proficiency rates reported represent the percentage of students who scored at the Proficient or Distinguished levels.
Comprehensive data sets encompassing state, district, and individual school performance are available for public review on the Maryland Report Card website.
