...Maryland schools see drop in NAEP assessment

After being ranked first in the nation for education for more than a decade, Maryland is seeing its scores in a key national test drop for fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math.
The state's performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress assessment — also known as the "Nation's Report Card" — put Maryland student achievement in the middle of the pack of states nationwide.
In results released Wednesday, Maryland was the only state to have falling scores in both subjects in both grades tested...

...In 2013, Maryland's scores were found to be inflated after it was determined that the state excluded high percentages of special education students from the reading exam. For example, 66 percent of fourth-graders with disabilities were excluded in the reading test in 2013, far higher than the national rate of 16 percent.
This year, state officials reported an exclusion rate of 3.6 percent in fourth-grade reading compared with 12.6 percent in 2013; and only 4.7 percent of eighth graders were excluded, down from 9.2 percent in 2013...


http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-ci-naep-scores-20151029-story.html