The number of five-star rated schools in the Howard County Public School System has fallen, according to new state data. In Howard, 16% of schools earned a 5-star rating for 2022-2023; 43% were given four stars, while 37% earned three stars.

Seventeen Howard schools fell from a five-star rating in 2021-2022 to a four-star rating in 2022-2023.

River Hill was the only high school to score five stars in 2022-2023. Eleven elementary schools also earned five stars: Dayton Oaks, Northfield, Centennial Lane, Worthington, Waverly, West Friendship, Manor Woods, Triadelphia Ridge, Bushy Park, Lisbon and Fulton. Of those schools, only Dayton Oaks climbed in rating; it got four stars the previous school year.

No Howard middle schools achieved a five-star rating in 2022-2023.

The Maryland Report Card grades individual schools on a one- to five-star scale. The 2022-2023 school year data were released Dec. 13.

This is the fourth year Maryland has used report cards and star ratings.  A school’s performance is evaluated using a balance of academic and non-academic factors, such as standardized test scores and student and teacher surveys about school life.

Maryland’s overall average rating is 3.2 stars, while Howard’s average is just over 3.7 stars. Both county and state averages represent a decrease from 2021-22.

The ratings methodology changed three ways for 2022-23. For middle schools, an eighth-grade social studies assessment was added. For elementary and middle schools, measurement of academic progress returned to pre-pandemic methods. For all schools, a measure of chronic absenteeism used before the pandemic was added back.

Only four schools of Howard County’s 75 improved star ratings from last year; more than 30% of Howard schools decreased in star rating.

Lake Elkhorn Middle, Harpers Choice Middle and Homewood School retained their two-star ratings. Homewood Center offers two school programs designed to meet individual needs of middle and high school students, with a focus on restorative practices and social-emotional learning, according to its website.

Twelve schools maintained a four-star rating. Ten schools fell from four to three stars, while 18 schools retained a three-star rating.

Swansfield, Thunder Hill and Talbott Springs elementary schools improved from a three-star to four-star rating.

“We use internal dashboards to track progress across school measures throughout the year,” HCPSS Director of Communications Brian Basset said in a statement. “School improvement plans are developed for each school to identify strategies that address student needs and school leaders track the progress throughout the year.”

The report card also looks at high school graduation rates, growth in middle and elementary schools, the progress of English language learners and MCAP scores, among other factors.

Schools are compared using a 100-point accountability system tied to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, a bipartisan 2015 replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act.

“The state’s report card is a summary of historical data to track progress and provide school comparisons,” according to Bassett.

2022-2023 marks the first post-pandemic school year that the percentage of chronically absent students has factored into Maryland Report Card data, which has increased by just over seven percentage points for Howard schools compared to data from the 2018-2019 school year. Chronically absent students missed at least one out of every 10 school days.

According to the state data, 17.1% of Howard County students missed more than 10% of school days in 2022-2023, up from 9.9% in 2018-2019. High school students continue to have the highest median percentage of chronic absentees, with 22.2% students chronically absent last school year. According to the data, 17% of middle schoolers and 16.3% of elementary schoolers were chronically absent last school year.

Student absenteeism was previously removed due to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on attendance when classes went online. Statewide attendance has improved, but the number of students who were chronically absent for 10% or more of the school days is still worse than pre-pandemic. Chronic absenteeism likely negatively impacted some schools’ star ratings, Bassett said.

“Regarding the latest ratings by the state, continued 2022-2023 post-pandemic chronic absenteeism and lower performance on the new state assessment program caused some school ratings to drop,” Bassett said.

Carey Wright, the interim state superintendent of schools, cautioned comparing last academic year’s report to previous years because some metrics that were left out in previous years have returned, such as student absenteeism. Eighth grade social studies Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program standardized test scores were also added, as required by a 2017 law.

“We cannot make perfect comparisons,” Wright said in a news release. “However, we celebrate those districts and schools that showed success and we will continue to support those that faced challenges.”

Ratings of schools and districts can be found online at reportcard.msde.maryland.gov.

Baltimore Sun staff members Lilly Price, Steve Early and Dan Belson contributed to this report.