• Dear Families, 

    This message is a reminder that, as outlined in your child’s course syllabus, changes in state regulation (COMAR 13A.03.02.06.E) from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) now state that “students shall take the requisite Maryland Comprehensive End of Course (EOC) Assessment during its regular administration for science and US Government. For students entering the ninth grade in the 2023-2024 school year and beyond, EOC assessment shall account for 20 percent of the student’s final grade in the respective high school level science and government courses.” 

    This new regulation will impact all ninth-grade students taking a required Biology or Government course this year in Maryland schools. You are receiving this information because your student is enrolled in one or more of these courses. 

    As a result of the state regulation change, ninth-grade students enrolled in a required Biology or Government course will receive the full 1.0 course credit at the end of the course provided they earn a passing grade (60%). Anne Arundel County Public Schools has historically awarded a 0.5 credit at the end of each semester for courses. That is no longer possible with the new state regulation and students taking the required assessment in May.  

    As such, course credit will no longer be awarded at the end of the semester for your student’s Biology and/or Government course and will not appear on the semester report card that you will receive later this month. The final course grade will appear on your child’s transcript as a 1.0 credit at the end of the school year after students take the required state end-of-course assessment and the results are factored into the course grade. The final grade for the required courses will be automatically calculated by AACPS and shared in the PowerSchool portal and report card as follows:

    • 1st MP: 20%
    • 2nd MP: 20%
    • 3rd MP: 20%
    • 4th MP: 20%
    • EOC: 20%

    If you have any questions about this new regulation, please contact Mr. Kevin Wajek, Director of Instruction, at kwajek@aacps.org.

    Thank you. 
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Overview

  • The Anne Arundel County Public Schools Science Program provides students with the opportunity to do independent or team research. It is the vision of the Office of Science that scientific inquiry – combined with content – becomes the true expression of science and is essential to science education. As students engage in scientific inquiry, they learn that science is more than a set of facts or discrete content areas; it is a way of perceiving, interpreting and understanding the world around them. When students do the work of scientists, they become highly engaged, curious and motivated to find answers and solve problems.

    The Science course trajectory utilizes a systems approach to study science and scientific principles. Students conduct laboratory investigations and engage in real world projects to understand and solve problems and/or improve design as scientists and engineers. They engage in scientific practices and engineering principles to develop deeper understandings of numerous topics in science. “The insights thus gained help students recognize that the work of scientists and engineers is a creative endeavor—one that has deeply affected the world they live in.”

     

     

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Our Vision & Mission

  • "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."  - Helen Keller

     

    Vision:

    • Science instruction in Anne Arundel County Public Schools will empower students to become a community of innovators who ask questions, solve problems, and change the world.

     

    Mission:

    • The Anne Arundel County Public Schools Office of Science will deliver engaging, rigorous, inquiry-based science instruction that ignites students’ natural curiosity about their world. We will prepare them to be well-informed, scientifically literate, and innovative global citizens by teaching them how to collaboratively identify and solve real-world problems, interpret their results, and clearly communicate their conclusions.

Contacts

  • Curriculum & Instruction Dept. Overview