A FAMILY GUIDE TO ANNUAL STATE TESTS IN MARYLAND - One of Many Measures of Student Learning - Understanding Grade Level Performance

Sep 29, 2026

A Family Guide to Annual State Tests in Maryland explains how annual state assessments fit into a broader view of student learning. It details Maryland’s MCAP testing requirements under ESSA, including subjects, grade levels, and diploma benchmarks. The guide emphasizes that test results should be combined with teacher feedback, classroom work, projects, and report cards. It also provides practical questions for families, insights for teachers on instructional use, and how school and district leaders use scores to guide decisions and targeted support.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

State Assessments 101

A Family Guide to Annual State Tests in Maryland

A Focus on Grade Level Skills

Useful Information for All

FAMILIES: Understanding Grade Level Performance

Questions to Ask the Teacher about Your Child’s MCAP Report

TEACHERS: Informing Instruction

SCHOOL & DISTRICT LEADERS: Informing Decisions

A FAMILY GUIDE TO ANNUAL STATE TESTS IN MARYLAND: One of Many Measures of Student Learning There are many ways to measure academic performance, and annual state tests are only one of them. These tests are not meant to tell the whole story. They are meant to be combined with other measures, including teacher feedback, classwork and projects, and report card grades. Together, these measures can give families a more complete picture of a student’s performance so they can better support learning at home and advocate for their child. State Assessments 101 The Every Student Succeeds Act or ESSA, requires students to take state tests in reading and math every year in third through eighth grade and once in high school. In Maryland, students in third through eighth grade take the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) in English language arts and math. Students in fifth and eighth grade also take a test in science and those in eighth grade take an MCAP in social studies. In high school, students take MCAP in English language arts in 10th grade and end-of-course tests in Biology, Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry and American Government. To earn a diploma, students must earn at least a Level 3 on the Algebra 1, Biology, American Government and English 10 tests. Students can retake a test if they need to, and there are other options for students to demonstrate they have learned the materials in a particular subject, such as bridge projects. A Family Guide to Annual State Tests in Maryland A Focus on Grade Level Skills Unlike other tests, MCAP is focused on grade level material and is aligned to the state standards. The test questions match what students do and learn in the classroom every day throughout the year, which are the skills that are most important for students to learn in order to move on to more challenging content. MCAP is taken online and includes a variety of different types of questions, including multi-step math problems, essays and constructed responses that require students to explain their answers. Grade 6: Math Melvin and Roberto played football on two different teams last season. • Melvin’s team won w games. • Roberto’s team won 3 fewer games than Melvin’s team. Create an expression that can be used to represent the number of games Roberto’steam won. Move a number, variable, or symbol into each box. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | Grade 3: ELA Part A What is the main idea of the passage? A Video games are a popular activity forchildren. B Playing video games with your family is fun, and it teaches teamwork. C It is important to spend time on other activities, not just on video games. D Video-game ratings help parents choose games for their children. Part B Which sentence from the passage best supports the answer to PartA? A “Lots of kids love video games.”(paragraph 1) B “It’s hard to get enough active play and exercise if you’re always inside playing video games.”(paragraph 3) C “A good game will be the right one for how old you are.”(paragraph 6) D “Games are rated like movies, and your mom and dad can help figure out which ones you should use.”(paragraph 6) A Family Guide to Annual State Tests in Maryland Useful Information for All FAMILIES: Understanding Grade Level Performance The MCAP report gives families information on how well their child performed on different sets of skills in each subject. Families can use this information to identify where their child is doing well and where they may need support or practice. This helps families better support learning at home. It can also help them start meaningful conversations with teachers, set goals for each student’s areas of improvement and identify resources and strategies that can be used at home and in school to help students make progress. Questions to Ask the Teacher about Your Child’s MCAP Report: • What does this mean about my child’s learning? • Is my child on grade level? • Wh

FAQs

What is the purpose of annual state tests in Maryland?

Annual state tests provide one measure of student learning, but they are intended to be combined with other information such as teacher feedback, classwork and projects, and report card grades.

Which subjects and grade levels take MCAP in Maryland?

Third through eighth grade take MCAP in English language arts and math. Fifth and eighth grade also take science, and eighth grade also takes social studies. High school includes MCAP English language arts in 10th grade and end-of-course tests in Biology, Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, and American Government.

What can families do with an MCAP report?

Families can use MCAP results to understand strengths and support needs across skill sets, start conversations with teachers, set improvement goals, and identify resources and strategies for learning at home and in school.

Sep 29, 2026

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