The best (and worst) Maryland schools (updated)
We have decided this year to analyze the Maryland School Assessment data in several different ways to produce rankings of elementary and middle schools. If you are able to download an Excel file on your computer, you can use the links below to call up the lists. We have also included a ranking of schools by the percentage of students scoring advanced on the tests, which some educators argue is perhaps a more valid measure of how a school is doing.
My story in Friday's paper details how the best elementary school in the state is not one from the wealthy burbs (although there are plenty of those among the top), but a small school in coal mining country just a couple miles from West Virginia -- Crellin Elementary in Garrett County. The school may have a 74 percent free and reduced lunch rate, but the principal, Dana McCauley, says that isn't going to define her students.
The school seems to be a model for how a community can come together to see that its children flourish. And it seems the same is true for many of the top schools. Far from "teaching to the test," these top schools are succeeding because they are interested in the "whole child," principals say.
UPDATE: We know a lot of people have been frustrated by not being able to see these links. So we have created a file we hope everyone will be able to see. The first group of links is to the PDF...the second group is the downloadable excel file.
Ranking of elementary schools by students who passed:
httpp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-elementary-passrank-pdf,0,7342882.acrobatRanking of elementary schools by students who scored advanced
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-elementary-advancerank-pdf,0,7661312.acrobatRanking of middle schools by students who passed
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-middle-passrank-pdf,0,2591967.acrobatRanking of middle schools by students who scored advanced.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-middle-advancerank-pdf,0,7441688.acrobat PDF. Gdh
Elementary school students who scored advanced:
http://www.baltimoresun2.com/images/assembler/elem.adv.rank.xlsx
Middle school students who scored advanced:
http://www.baltimoresun2.com/images/assembler/mid.adv.rank.xlsx
Elementary school rankings for those who passed:
http://www.baltimoresun2.com/images/assembler/elem.pass.rank.xlsx
Middle school rankings for those who passed:
http://www.baltimoresun2.com/images/assembler/mid.pass.rank.xlsx
Baltimoresun.com's 
Comments
Would like to see these tables but even with excel on my computer, links don't seem to lead to the data. Any advice?
Posted by: Interested | July 22, 2010 9:32 PM
I have the latest version of Excel on my computer, but the links don't work.
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They should work now. Sorry for the trouble.
Posted by: Momof2 | July 23, 2010 9:42 AM
I can not get the files to download. Can you post them as a PDF instead?
Posted by: Sharon | July 23, 2010 10:45 AM
You need Excel 2007. The Sun should also make these available in Excel 97-03 format.
Posted by: alsointerested | July 23, 2010 12:26 PM
These are 2007, or 2010 links. If you are using a 2003 execel program, you will not be able to view it.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 23, 2010 1:03 PM
The links don't work, but I am very interested. Can you fix this?
Posted by: momof2 | July 23, 2010 4:25 PM
They didn't work for me either - .xml's not .xls's. The article had scores within systems, but is cross-state ranking would be interesting.
Posted by: a parent | July 23, 2010 5:59 PM
It was my understanding that "Reaching AYP" meant that a school had reached the APO for EACH of its subgroups. The schools you have listed as "top" schools, did not do that. How about giving us a list of schools who truly reached AYP with all of the subgroups to compare?
Posted by: Anonymous | July 26, 2010 7:42 AM
The sobering fact in Md. schools is that white majority schools score higher, and those with majority or increasing black populations score lower. The recent issues with Abbotson and a few other schools underscores an interesting fact: that while the City might be quick to blame the teachers, some schools do have white, asian and black minorities. The teachers teach the same material to all and yet, in any environment, wealthy or not, the blacks score lowest. Why?
Take a look at the MSDE Maryland Report Card 2010 to look at the MSA's across the state. In Baltimore county, as black populations have shifted from Owings Mills to Reisterstown, and now Cockeysville, the scores have fallen.
Thus ask whether the problem is the school, or the culture. In 10 years, or less, some northern Baltimore County blue ribbon schools will be majority black, and Dulaney is now squarely in the bullseye, with a demographic shift that looks like Randallstown from the 80's. Once that change occurs, there will be white flight.
People will scream racism, but with few exceptions, the same kids in the same schools across socio-economic zones score differently, not the same, and race plays a huge factor in many cases. Look at the statistics and ask what can be done to help those who need support. Further, stop making excuses, since other groups have suffered yet do better. So what's the problem?
Posted by: bob | July 28, 2010 8:17 PM
With Microsoft Open XML Converter, these all opened just fine in Excel 2003 for me.
Posted by: sean | July 29, 2010 1:33 PM