Data Dashboard | Strong Schools MD

The Data Project

The Process

Each year the State releases a trove of raw data files compiled from the reporting they mandate across school districts. Much of this data is used to inform the various reports that both the State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Accountability Implementation Board (AIB) publish. However, it has been a frequent complaint among stakeholders that the state has failed to make this vast amount of data readily understandable to the general public without them having to wade through their long-winded reports or large two-dimensional tables.

To address these complaints, we created the following webpage which contains a series of interactive dashboards based on those same data sets. Additionally, key takeaways, notes on relevant specifics within the Blueprint legislature, and a short summary of the importance of all of the information are included alongside each dashboard. The page is separated into sections for each of the first four pillars of the Blueprint. Definitions of terms and raw sources are compiled at the end. To interact with the visualizations below, simply click on the graphs to see relationships demonstrated and data points highlighted across the dashboard.

The Caveats

There are several challenges and limitations underlying this project, as is unavoidable with such time-constrained and large-scale undertakings. It is important to acknowledge and understand these so that the information can be used to its fullest potential without sacrificing accuracy of the message.

The data is released by the state in certain formats. Much of the data therefore cannot be deconstructed in what would ultimately be the best ways (which some believe may be the intent of releasing the data in this way). This has created limitations in what can be shown through the data in this project.
Due to it still being within the first few years of the Blueprint's implementation, and the occurrence of the highly disruptive Covid pandemic, tracking and interpreting results over time is not a highly reliable method for analyzing the data currently. As such, the data below is mostly confined to snapshots of the 2023-2024 school year.
None of the data or takeaways discussed below should be interpreted as proving causation, the purpose of this project can do is highlight correlations and gaps as they are seen in the data.

The Goals

This project aims to provide increased transparency and improved comprehension surrounding the data that is released by the state. The hope is that by creating a series of easy-to-use, interactive dashboards, more of the broader stakeholder population can make use of the data themselves. The use of this data can hopefully both inform and inspire advocacy efforts across a wide range of targeted outcomes. This project also goes to show what is possible with the data that the state collects. Even in the limited form it is available in publicly, it is perfectly possible to display the data in a much more user friendly and digestible way then the state currently chooses to.

Pillar 1: Early Childhood Education

School districts with higher total wealth have higher total Pre-K participation

Higher total Pre-K spending is connected to higher participation levels in districts

Blueprint Promises

Increased access to free and reduced price Pre-K programs for all 3 and 4 year old children
New and improved Pre-K readiness guidelines and outcomes

The KRA readiness assessment is currently being updated for improvements, the data used is the most recent available.

School districts with higher Pre-K participation numbers tend to have lower average readiness scores

Higher total scholarship spending by districts is connected with larger percent changes in participation year over year

The Importance

The observed connection between the number of participants and lower readiness in districts points to the struggles of current Pre-K systems to handle increasing student volume. Higher spending on childcare scholarships and Pre-K programs overall is linked to greater participation, suggesting that school districts should expect higher costs as pre-K initiatives continue to expand across the state

Pillar 2: High Quality and Diverse Teachers and Leaders

School districts with higher levels of inexperienced teachers tend to have a lower percentage of students who meet rigorous indicators.

Areas where higher concentrations of teachers have a masters degree are also areas where there are lower concentrations of students of color.

The percent of inexperienced teachers is higher in schools with high poverty and high students of color levels.

Across the state, lower paid teachers (who tend to have higher levels of inexperience) are concentrated in high poverty level schools.

Districts with higher levels of teacher pay tend to have higher levels of students meeting rigorous indicators.

The Importance

Students of color and students from low-income communities are much more likely to have teachers who are less experienced, lower paid, and less likely to hold advanced degrees. These staffing disparities are linked to lower academic outcomes, including fewer students achieving rigorous indicators in high school. This dashboard shows how teacher pay, experience, and qualifications are not evenly distributed and emphasizes why investing in teacher support is critical for closing achievement gaps and improving educational equity across the state.

Blueprint Promises

Increase teacher pay and support statewide
Improve student outcomes by improving teacher-student relationships and conditions under which teachers operate across districts.

Widely unequal outcomes between school districts, both in terms of the percentage of students who are taking tests per demographic group, and the passage rate of those students.

Unequal outcomes between student demographic groups both in terms of the rate at which students take, and the rate at which students pass, AP tests.

Pillar 3: College and Career Readiness

Blueprint Promises

Increase the ability of students to achieve college and career readiness by the time they are they are in 10th grade
Increase the accessibility and prevalence of CTE programming.

School districts spending larger proportions of funds on College and Career Readiness (CCR) programs tend to have a larger percentage of students who achieve rigorous SAT or ACT results.

Districts with high achievement in only CTE or USM have poorer graduation results. And CTE results are generally low across districts.

The Importance

Students from different demographic groups and districts experience vastly different levels of access to and success in college and career readiness programs. These gaps show up in who takes AP tests, who passes them, and how well students perform on the SAT or ACT. This dashboard highlights how targeted investments in programs like CCR are connected with better outcomes. However, the connections between student success and CTE and USM programs is less clear. These data points help districts and communities understand where support is needed and how resources can be more effectively used to close opportunity gap.

Pillar 4: More Resources for all Students to be Successful

There is a close connection between the demographics of a district and the distribution of Blueprint funding in that district.

Blueprint Promises

Increases in funding for special education and multilingual learner students
Targets supports for students and families based on differentiated need.
Establish or enhance community school programs in areas of need

School Districts spending a larger proportion of funds on English Learning programs tend to have a higher AP passage rate among their multilingual student population.

School districts with the highest chronic absenteeism rates are also those which are spending the highest proportion of funds on community school related programming.

Districts with the lower levels of per-pupil wealth rely more on state funding per-pupil

The Importance

Districts see their funding by program vary greatly depending on their student populations. Observing these connections shows that the Blueprint is helping to direct money towards vulnerable student populations across districts. For example, larger levels of multilingual students are spending more on English learning programs and are, in general, seeing higher passage rates for those multilingual students. Additionally, districts with higher levels of chronic absenteeism are directing more money towards community schools, which are designed to be part of the solution to that issue. Overall, this dashboard shows the ways in which Blueprint legislature broadly dictates funding patterns across school districts, ideally in service of those areas and students who most need it.

Note the connection between higher levels of:

FARMS and Compensatory Ed;

Students with disabilities and Special Ed;

Multilingual Learners and English Learners;

Economically Disadvantaged and Conc. of Poverty.

What does Strong Schools Maryland do?

Strong Schools Maryland is the leading statewide, independent organization advocating for world-class schools for all Maryland students. We do three things: (1) we monitor the implementation of education policies, specifically the Blueprint for Maryland's Future; (2) we recruit Marylanders (just like you!) who care about public school students and educational equity, and we equip them with the tools, skills. and networks necessary make a positive difference; and (3) we use legislative and regulatory advocacy tactics to ensure we all have our voices heard by critical decision-makers.
Didn't we pass the Blueprint? Aren't we done now?

Yes, we did just pass the Blueprint--and secure a veto override! But we are far from done. In the policy cycle, we're headed into stage 5-policy implementation. This is where most big policy reform efforts are made or broken--at the point where real people on the ground have to put lofty policy goals into actual practice. It's not shiny like the activities of the 90 day legislative session, but it's critical to ensuring that the hopes we had when we fought for the Blueprint will become reality. You'll also notice that stakeholder engagement and education are at the center of the cycle--that's because YOU are critical every step of the way!
How can I get involved with Strong Schools Maryland?

There are many different ways to get involved with Strong Schools Maryland. You can read about the different ways to get involved here. The fastet way to stay up to date is by signing up for our email list. We are also recruiting team and action leaders. If you are interested in learning more about what it means to be a team or action leader, please email allie@strongschoolsmaryland.org to set up a time to have a one on one conversation.
How is Strong Schools Maryland funded?

Strong Schools Maryland is a fiscally sponsored program of a 501(c)(3) organization. This means we rely on fundraising to meet our annual organizational budget. Our fiscal sponsor is the Fund for Educational Excellence. Despite this relationship, we operate with our own staff and advisory council. We have been fortuante to receive the support of many Maryland based foundations and private individuals committed to creating world-class schools for every student. In addition, we are fortunate to have a base of dedicated supporters who have donated through our online portal, contributing as little as $3.00 at a time. We are grateful for every supporter and every donor who believes in our mission. If you would like to make a donation, you can donate online here or mail a check to the following address: Fund for Educational Excellence c/o Strong Schools Maryland 800 N Charles St Suite 400 Baltimore, MD 21201 You check should be made out to the Fund for Educational Excellence with "Strong Schools Maryland" in the notes line.
How can I get in contact with Strong Schools Maryland?

If you want to reach out to a specific individual, you can learn more about our organizational leadership team here. For general inquires, please email hello@strongschoolsmaryland.org. Please allow 48-72 hours for responses.
Can Maryland afford the Blueprint for Maryland's future?

Yes! Legislators wisely built a pause button into the Blueprint to slow implementation so the economy can recover before funding ramps up further. We know that the long-term path to building a strong economy and faster recovery runs through increased investment in public school students and school communities. Despite the recent influx of federal relief funding, we're keeping a watchful eye to ensure the state and local governments responsible for implementing the Blueprint continue to fund their fair share. You can read more about the economic impact of implementing the Blueprint here.
Why does Maryland even need the Blueprint?

There are a lot of valid answers to this question. The state was in need of systemically increased and equitably distributed funding for public schools. The disparities in funding adequacy gaps helped drive opportunity gaps and overall outcome declines for wide swaths of student groups across the state. Concentrated poverty in particular, when large numbers of students experiencing poverty are served in one school, made the need clear.