In addition, the assessment of middle schools includes an evaluation of the performance of these schools' graduates in the high school Functional Tests to ascertain how the middle schools prepared students for high school. Publicize and disseminate information about the results of school performance. Each year the state issues the Maryland School Performance Report for Schools and School Systems, a book that provides information at the state and local school system levels on progress in meeting state standards. This information is available in school libraries and, upon request, from the school district. The State Department of Education distributes the report card widely by mail to all stakeholders, including the business community, members of the state legislature, and education groups.
Initial dissemination is made at a state-conducted event, which is preceded by press briefings.
In addition, the 1998 report card will be posted at the State Department of Education's web site. In general, there is a common format for these report cards, but local systems are being given increased flexibility on whether to include technical data in their reports, e.g., the number of students exempted from tests, number of absences, and number of transfer students who took tests. These data are included in the state report card broken down by district but not by school. The report cards contain information on student population characteristics, e.g., economic status, expenditures per pupil, staffing, and scores on state-required tests. They are disaggregated by race and gender, but not for disabled or LEP students.