The Baltimore City school system is slamming the media for reporting that at some schools there were no students who reached proficiency levels in math on the latest MCAP standardized tests. 

School officials have posted a statement on their website accusing the media of writing what they call inflammatory summaries and headlines to earn internet clicks and attributing the reports to what the statement calls a repeatedly ill-intentioned news outlet. 

“Overall, the district closed the gap with the state of Maryland in 7 of 14 tested grades and subjects (generally math and English Language Arts) between 2019-2022. We were encouraged but neither pleased nor satisfied,” reads a statement from the system.

The report by the Maryland State Department of Education in January showed test scores for students returned to pre-pandemic performance levels in English but not in math.

According to the report, the percentage of students proficient in math in grades 3 through 8 dropped from 33% for the 2018-2019 school year to 22% last year.

“Since the 2021-22 school year, City Schools has invested more than $17 million in high-dosage tutoring as a critical academic recovery strategy,” the system wrote in a statement. “The district has expanded professional development for teachers with a focus on mathematics – similar to what we have already committed to in literacy.”