by Owen Smith ‘27

When people think of Montgomery County, a common perception is of a diverse area with exceptional schools. However, recent years have tarnished MCPS’s academic reputation, and some wonder if the county will rise out of the hole that its put itself in.

MCPS has always been well known as an educational powerhouse, widely regarded as the best school system in the state of Maryland. Unfortunately in the past few years since the covid pandemic, many have questioned if MCPS is in decline and now trails behind some neighboring school systems, such as Howard County Public Schools, in terms of academic achievement and rigor. It’s a shame that despite having a total 2025 Fiscal Year budget of $3.3 billion, many students in the county test particularly low on a variety of assessments. Superintendent Thomas Taylor has taken steps to address academic accountability and demand better results, and it will take full-fledged commitment for MCPS to earn back a national reputation for excellence.

One of Taylor’s benchmarks for success is the graduation rate. Although it is important that nearly all students receive a diploma, it needs to mean something. Of the 91.8 percent of seniors graduating in 2024, according to the MCPS website, a significant number of them got that diploma without truly showing that they’re prepared for either college or the workforce. The county’s test scores strongly suggest that too many students are scraping by during their four years of high school. Data was announced by the Maryland State Department of Education and reported by Bethesda Today magazine where it was found that only 57 percent of MCPS students are proficient in Reading, and just a measly 35.7 percent of kids are proficient in math.

In an interview on ABC 7News, Taylor stated that he is, “preparing our kids to do some high-level mathematics and to be able to address some of their numeracy needs.” However, since Taylor has made this claim, the county has not made any noticeable changes to its math curriculum, as it remains on the current Curriculum 2.0 plan which has been in use since 2019 and has proven to be a letdown.
For this upcoming school year, Taylor has implemented a new grading system that grades students upon a numeric average rather than the old letter grade system that had been more lenient to a student’s overall grade. Taylor has also cracked down on phone use in the classroom with the new policy, which should likely increase student engagement.

Despite these efforts, it still won’t be enough to get the school system out of the deep hole that it’s currently in. Some students will still utilize their phones despite the introduction of phone pouches in most classrooms, and the new grading system will only expose the academic problem that should already be apparent to MCPS supervisors. Our county has been struggling with academics and rigor, and it doesn’t look like things are getting better until MCPS leaders truly commit to demanding more of its students.