Inside MSEA
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Is Working to Improve Student Outcomes
For years, educators across Maryland have said the same thing: when students have the resources, supports, and opportunities they deserve, they succeed. Now, new national research confirms the real progress made in classrooms and school communities across our state.
According to a recent Education Scorecard produced by researchers at Harvard, Stanford, and Dartmouth, Maryland students made one of the fastest academic recoveries in the nation following the pandemic. In fact, Maryland ranked third nationally for improvement in reading and fifth in math between 2022 and 2025.
That progress did not happen by accident.
Maryland educators refused to give up on students during some of the most difficult years public education has ever faced. School employees adapted, innovated, tutored, coached, supported, encouraged, and showed up for students every single day. And this progress was underpinned by Maryland’s critical investments in public education through federal recovery funding and the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
At the same time, the findings also remind us that our work is far from finished. Persistent challenges tied to absenteeism, poverty, staffing shortages, and student mental health continue to affect students. As we embark on the second half of the decade-long Blueprint implementation, those areas must be the focus.
The Blueprint is working because it recognizes a simple truth: student success requires sustained investment and respect for the professionals who make learning possible. When educators are supported and schools are funded, students benefit.
The progress we are seeing is encouraging. We cannot let federal attacks on public schools or the wavering of some state and local officials slow or eliminate the work and successes of the Blueprint. Instead, the responsibility before us now is to build on its success while making smart adjustments to meet the needs and realities our schools face today.