News Release

Education stakeholders do not reach consensus on administration of CMAS math, English language arts tests for this spring

Group supports PSAT, SAT tests for high school students 

DENVER – The final report by the COVID-19 Policy Implications Stakeholder Group released today recommends some statewide assessments should continue as planned this spring while others should not occur. No decision was reached on whether the Colorado Measures of Academic Success tests in mathematics and English language arts should be administered to the state’s third through eighth graders.

The Colorado General Assembly last spring called for the creation of a stakeholder group of Colorado education leaders to advise policymakers on what, if any, changes should be made to state law around testing and accountability because of the COVID-19 crisis. Final decisions are up to the legislature since these matters are tied to state law. 

On assessments, the group said schools should administer the PSAT and SAT to the extent that local health orders allow and that CMAS tests in science and social studies should be canceled in the spring. The group did not reach a consensus agreement on administering the CMAS mathematics and English language arts tests to third through eighth graders for a range of conflicting reasons. Some stakeholders wanted to administer the tests to be able to measure student learning loss and others did not want the tests to be conducted out of concern over the misinterpretation of the results within the context of COVID-19.

News Release

$15 million in one-time funding will help schools struggling to reopen

DENVER – The Colorado Department of Education today announced a new $15 million grant opportunity for school districts and BOCES that are struggling to return to in-person learning and need additional resources to safely reopen when possible.

Applications for the Safe Schools Reopening Grant may be submitted by districts and BOCES that operate public schools on behalf of any school, including charter schools. Applications are due Nov. 30 and funds must be spent by Dec. 30.

News Release

Board grants DSST Public Schools appeal of DPS board's requirements

DENVER – The State Board of Education agreed today to provide educators an additional six months to complete the teacher training required by the READ Act. Kindergarten through third-grade teachers will now have until Jan. 31, 2022 to complete their training requirements on evidence-based reading instruction. 

The board directed districts to communicate the requirement to all K-3 teachers by Dec. 1, 2020, and ensure teachers meet the new January 2022 deadline. Districts, BOCES and charters that do not meet the requirements will be ineligible for READ Act funds for the 2022-23 school year.

Only 40% of Colorado's third graders are meeting expectations on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success tests in English language arts, yet research shows that students need to learn to read at grade level by the end of third grade so they can read to learn in fourth grade and beyond.

The Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act was passed in 2012 with the goal of dramatically improving reading for our youngest learners. Since then, however, Colorado has seen only a 2% increase in third graders meeting or exceeding expectations on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success tests in English language arts. In addition, statewide data shows only a 1% reduction in the number of students identified with a significant reading deficiency.

The READ Act aims to ensure all students can read at grade level by the end of third grade. In 2019, the legislature made several changes to the READ Act to help educators support reading success among our state's youngest learners. Not all of Colorado's educators have had the opportunity to learn the science of teaching reading in their teacher training programs, so one of the changes to the READ Act required training on the latest evidence-based reading instruction strategies for all K-3 teachers. 

Teachers have a variety of avenues to complete the training, including no-cost options provided by the Colorado Department of Education. 
 
Board grants DSST Public Schools appeal
Following a formal hearing, the state board found the Denver Public Schools Board of Education's decision to delay the opening of DSST’s Noel High School from the 2021-22 school year to the 2022-23 school year is contrary to the best interests of students. The state board remanded the matter back to the DPS board with instructions to allow Noel High School to open in the 2021-22 school year and include Noel High School in the enrollment process opening Jan. 15, 2021.

The state board also found that it was not in students’ best interest for DPS to require improvement plans for Cole High School, Cole Middle School and Henry Middle School as a condition for Noel High School’s opening. The state board remanded this condition back to the DPS board with instruction to remove the improvement plan requirement.

News Release

School and district ratings to remain the same this year

Extension of K-3 teacher training requirement to be considered next week

DENVER – The Colorado State Board of Education at its regular monthly meeting Wednesday and Thursday extended the school and district ratings assigned in 2019 to this year. With the cancellation of state assessments in spring 2020, the accountability system was paused by Gov. Jared Polis’ Executive Order in March and later codified by the legislature in the School Finance Act. Districts and schools will not receive performance framework reports or updated plan types in 2020. 

Extension considered for READ Act K-3 teacher training 
In response to the challenges teaching are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the board considered providing kindergarten through third-grade teachers with a six-month extension to meet the READ Act requirement to complete evidence-based training in teaching reading. The board will take up the proposal again during a special meeting scheduled for Nov. 19. 

About 23,000 teachers in Colorado must complete the training, as required by changes the legislature made in 2019 to the READ Act. The legislation requires teachers to complete the training before the beginning of the 2021-22 school year and provides an allowance for CDE to grant a one-year extension if districts demonstrate a good cause for their inability to comply. The proposal considered by the board would extend the deadline to January 2022. 

In other action, the board declined to consider a district waiver application from the Education reEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Educational Services. The Innovation Schools Act gives only districts -- not BOCES -- the ability to request waivers from certain state statutes, so the board found the BOCES to be ineligible for the waivers under state statute.