Paint Branch students are performing better than a majority of Maryland schools, as indicated in the new Maryland Report Card, which is designed and issued as a part of the state’s plan to improve school quality through accountability and innovation.

According to a press release from Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith, “The Maryland Report Card is designed to measure school success in several ways, including state tests in English Language Arts and math; postsecondary readiness; progress of English learners in achieving English language proficiency; graduation rate; and students with access to and earning credit for a well-rounded curriculum. In future years, the Maryland Report Card will also include science and social studies achievement (grades 5 & 8 and grade 8, respectively), and the results of a student/educator climate survey. Based on these performance indicators, the state will give each school a percentile rank, a total earned points percent and a star rating, on a scale of 1 to 5 stars.”

In a letter to the Paint Branch staff following the release of the Report Card, Principal Dr. Myriam Yarbrough wrote, “I am pleased to share that Paint Branch High School has received [a school rating of] 4 out of 5 stars. I want to thank you for all of the hard work that you do with our students every day.”

Overall, Paint Branch students scored slightly higher than MCPS as a whole, with a percentage rating of sixty-seven percent compared to the county average of sixty-four percent. Paint Branch scored well in measures for graduation rate, progress toward English language proficiency, and school quality and student success.

However, the school earned modest ratings for student achievement, measured by students’ math and English Language Arts proficiency, and post-secondary readiness, determined by the percentages of ninth-graders earning at least four credits in required coursework and of high school graduates achieving a rigorous co-curricular standard.