Newark, MD, July 28, 2026– Today, the Maryland State Department of Education released statewide performance data with Worcester County Public Schools outperforming all school systems in the State in both Mathematics and English/Language Arts.
During the State Board of Education meeting, State Superintendent Dr. Carey Wright and staff provided an update on student performance on state assessments administered in spring 2026 in English/Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. Statewide, assessment results showed Maryland’s students experienced progress in both ELA and mathematics.
Worcester County student performance on the spring ELA assessments continued to top all other school systems in Maryland with 69.9 percent of students scoring as proficient or higher, over 18 percentage points above the state average of 51.7 percent. For the second consecutive year, seventh grade proficiency in ELA grew at every school across the county, with all schools increasing proficiency by four percentage points or better. Additionally, eighth grade proficiency also rose across all schools, with Pocomoke Middle School making the largest jump with an increase of 6.4 percentage points. Another stand-out performance in ELA was Pocomoke Elementary School’s (PES) third grade, which increased a whopping 17.5 percentage points over last year.
Worcester County topped the State by over 21 percentage points in mathematics with 48.8 percent of students reaching proficiency across all assessments. A particular highlight is Buckingham Elementary School’s fourth grade results, which increased by an incredible 20.1 percentage points over last year. Additionally, third grade results at Ocean City Elementary School and PES increased by 17.5 percentage points and 17.4 percentage points respectively.
“We are incredibly proud that Worcester County Public Schools continues to lead the state in both English/Language Arts and Mathematics,” said Dr. Annette Wallace, Superintendent of Worcester County Public Schools. “At the same time, we know these scores tell only part of our story. They are an important measure of student learning, but they also remind us that our work continues. We remain committed to using this data to strengthen instruction, support every learner, and ensure each child is known by name, strength, and need.”
The full presentation of statewide scores can be viewed as a part of the State Board of Education’s meeting at https://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/pages/meeting-agendas/2026/0728/2026-07-28.aspx.