Mancos School District RE-6, which primarily opts out of the Colorado Measures of Academic Success testing, discussed school improvement and emphasized its values, project-based learning and continued focus of helping students excel in their studies whether they are heading to college or straight into the workforce.
Unlike other districts in Southwest Colorado, Mancos schools don’t use CMAS or state testing data to calculate improvement or to measure success. According to Superintendent Todd Cordrey, 95% of Mancos parents opt their student out of the state testing.
Because so few students take the state tests, the data would not accurately academic performance.
Mancos has had “innovation status” with the Colorado Department of Education since 2016.
“We’re going into our eighth year really focusing on academic achievement,” Cordrey said.
The district identified six key values: great teachers and leaders, Colorado Academic Standards, common formative assessments, normed assessments, Individual Career and Academic Plans and whole child development.
“We have observed that the CMAS test as a whole is not timely – the test occurs in the spring, and information is not returned until the fall of the next school year,” Cordrey said. “Therefore, it’s not actionable, teachers can’t make quick pivots in what and how they’re teaching or identify students who need additional support at the moment, and most importantly, it doesn’t measure how much a student has grown in their achievement.”
“CMAS is achievement-focused only, and as a district, we strive to be achievement and growth-oriented,” Cordrey said.
Mancos uses an assessment suite called NWEA MAP Growth Assessments, which is a national assessment used throughout the country. The district can measure student achievement and student growth multiple times a year instead of one, allowing teachers and school leaders to quickly identify problems and provide help.
Test results available within 24 hours.
“With the CMAS test, a fifth grader, for example, would take it in the spring and get the information in the fall,” Cordrey said. “Now this student is a sixth grader and the data to support that student is a lot less actionable.”
Students in grades two through 10 take the online adaptive assessments in fall, winter and spring. Four tests cover reading, language usage, math and science. Students in kindergarten, first grade and 11th grade take smaller assessments.
A Family MAP Growth Report shows teachers and parents the students’s skill level, what they’re ready for and where they need help.
According to information provided by Cordrey from the school’s latest round of MAP Growth assessments, students are making average growth in reading and math compared with national norms.
“We want to be better than average,” he said.
To foster growth from an early age and through students’ education, the district began a new curriculum called Benchmark Advanced at the elementary school level.
“Our hope is to see tremendous growth in reading in the next few years with this targeted program,” Cordrey said.
The district also formed a partnership with PBLWorks to reinforce student-centered and project-based learning. This partnership, which was a $180,000 commitment, offers three years of district training for staff.
The district recently hosted a parent night to “reintroduce our community to the whats and why of student-centered learning and PBL.”
To help students who may not be on the college path, the school implemented a career pathways program in 2022.
The five pathways are health care, culinary arts, entrepreneurship, welding and drone aviation. Out of the five, four are Career Technical Education pathways, which are aligned with Colorado Community College System and CDE guidelines, allowing students to achieve professional certifications.
The district is trying to raise graduation rates and ensure that all students graduate with college credits and career certifications.
“Last year, about 100 of our students had received around 110 career certifications,” he said. “We only have about 155 kids in the high school, so over two-thirds of our high schoolers received a career certification just last year.”
In the 2022-2023 class, graduates had an average of eight college credits.
Cordrey attributed this accomplishment to “the work done at the lower grades to prepare students for these real life, high-stakes exams.”
“Every kid is different, and every kid has a different path, but we want to make sure that our kids are ready for the workforce or a four-year university or both,” he said.
According to Cordrey, the RE-6 Board of Education has set two main goals for academic achievement and students’ well-being – ensuring that every student is at grade level or above and achieving at least a year’s worth of growth per year.
“We strive for more, but that’s our benchmark standard,” Cordrey said.
Right now, Cordrey said, about 50% of the district’s students are performing at grade level or above.
“That’s an area that’s of critical importance to us,” Cordrey said. “We continue to provide interventions and support, instruction and the curriculum needed to help make sure those students are on a growth trajectory and that the ones that are not at grade level will be to grade level and beyond by the time they graduate.”
The district also strives to improve its student-centric strategy.
“It’s where we engage students and have them doing 90% of the work and teachers doing 10%,” Cordrey said. “Whoever does the work does the learning. Our teachers are really talented and want to make sure students are engaged. The best way to engage them is by having them do the work in a way that’s meaningful for them, where they have a voice and a choice. Then, when they have to take accountability for their work, they can express their knowledge in a confident way.”
