Press Release: PGCPS Students Record Broad Gains on 2025 MCAP Assessments

August 27, 2025
For Immediate Release

CONTACT:
Office of Communications
301-952-6001
communications@pgcps.org

Many students recorded stronger year-over-year gains than their peers statewide as leaders focus on further accelerating growth.

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) students demonstrated notable gains on the 2025 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP), with results showing progress across grade levels and strong comparisons to peers statewide.

PGCPS increased proficiency rates across all mathematics grades and courses and in most English Language Arts (ELA) grades (with Grade 4 declining, as did the state). On average, math scores rose 3.9 percentage points — nearly double the statewide increase of 2.0. ELA performance, on average, grew by 2.8 points, closely aligned with Maryland’s overall 2.9-point rise.

Perhaps most encouraging, more than 30,000 PGCPS students are within reach of proficiency — a clear runway for acceleration. 20,815 PGCPS students are within 10 scale-score points of proficiency (13,773 in ELA; 7,042 in math), including nearly 9,800 within just five points. Among students who met the mark this year, 2,643 more reached proficiency and 737 more advanced to the distinguished level compared with last year.

“This year’s MCAP data provides a snapshot of real progress across our schools, even as we are reminded there is more work ahead,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Shawn Joseph. “These outcomes are not a story of deficiency — they are a story of momentum and lift-off. Rather than fixating on gaps, we must focus on achievement, asking whether students are growing at the pace they deserve and how we accelerate that growth.”

Hear from educators and leaders in schools with significant year-over-year MCAP gains on their work to accelerate learning.

Equity-Honest Comparisons

Looking through an equity-focused lens, PGCPS students shine:

More than 85% of students are performing at or above their like peers statewide.
Black/African American students outperformed statewide peers by 4.3 percentage points in ELA and 1.9 in mathematics.
Hispanic/Latino students outperformed statewide peers by 1.9 in ELA and 1.2 in math.
Multilingual learners improved in all math grades (and Algebra I) and in ELA grades 3, 6, 7, 8, and English 10.
Students with disabilities improved in both math and ELA across grades, with Grade 6 as the only exception
PGCPS CSI schools are closing gaps at a higher rate than many other state-identified CSI schools. Many are showing solid progress, with some schools showing gains between 5–10 percentage points.

Where Work Must Intensify

The data also highlight areas for growth. Nearly half of elementary students scored zero on constructed-response writing and in mathematics, about 25% of eighth graders scored zero on math modeling.

“These are not verdicts on children; they are feedback for us about the kinds of thinking we must teach explicitly every day,” Dr. Joseph said.

To accelerate learning, the district has outlined the following priorities:

Daily writing and discourse across disciplines.
Public reasoning and multi-step problem solving in mathematics.
Strengthened support for multilingual learners and students with disabilities.
Addressing chronic absenteeism as an equity issue.
Expanding internships and dual enrollment opportunities.
Building an organizational culture that supports and develops educators.

“In Prince George’s County, we will define our work through rigorous instruction, emancipatory pedagogy, and an ethic of care that insists every student is seen as capable, creative, and worthy of the very best we can give,” Dr. Joseph said. “Tests may classify; they cannot define. We will continue to report results with integrity and context, compare like with like, and tell the fuller story of growth, gain, and genius.”

District leaders will present 2025 MCAP data at a Board of Education work session on Thursday, September 18 at 5:00 p.m.

-30-