Results from standardized student progress tests in spring – the first detailed look at student achievement since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic – display a general drop in participation and performance statewide, but a smaller drop in performance in Southwest Colorado.
In Southwest Colorado, some scores improved from 2019, when CMAS assessments were last administered.
Montezuma-Cortez Assistant Superintendent Lis Richard celebrated the success of Kemper Elementary School students at the September RE-1 Board of Education meeting.
“We just never recognized that Kemper outdid most of the state in their CMAS scores as far as growth — in math particular,” she said at the meeting.
On the third grade English Language Arts assessment, Kemper students averaged a score of 742 – compared with the state mean of 736. On the fifth grade ELA assessment, Kemper students earned a mean score of 746, the same as the state mean score. On the fourth grade math test, Kemper’s mean score was 740, surpassing the state mean of 729.
Students in Colorado were assessed in third, fifth and seventh grade English language arts; fourth, sixth and eighth grade mathematics; and eighth grade science.
This year, the Colorado Measures of Academic Success tests were not administered in fourth, sixth and eighth grade English language arts; third, fifth and seventh mathematics; fifth grade and high school-level science or social studies.
Student participation in 2021 CMAS testing fell dramatically. For example, 76.2% of third grade students statewide took the ELA test in 2021, down from 96.9% in 2019.
The low participation rate can make results less representative of the larger student body.
“As participation rates decrease, challenges with interpreting results increase,” the Colorado Department of Education said in a news release.
Following is a breakdown of participation and mean score by test offered for local districts.
Statewide in 2021, 76.2% of students participated in the English language arts test, with a mean score of 736 out of a possible 850. In 2019, the mean score was 740.
Statewide, 39.1% of students met or exceeded expectations on the ELA test, a decrease of 2.2 percentage points from 2019.
In Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1, 32.3% of students met or exceeded expectations on ELA, an improvement of 7.2 percentage points compared with 2019 results.
In Dolores School District RE-4A, 18.9% of students met or exceeded expectations on ELA, a decrease of 24.4 percentage points from 2019.
In Durango School District 9-R, 29.9% of students met or exceeded expectations on ELA, a decline of 8.7 percentage points from 2019.
Statewide, 74.4% of students participated in the ELA test in 2021, with a mean score of 746 out of a possible 850. This is down just one point from the mean score of 747 in 2019.
Statewide, 47.2% of students met or exceeded expectations on the ELA test, compared with 48.4% of fifth graders in 2019.
In RE-1, 34.3% of students met or exceeded expectations on the ELA test, an increase of 1.9 percentage points from 2019.
In RE-4A, 51.9% of students met or exceeded expectations on the ELA test, an increase of 14.8 percentage points from 2019.
In 9-R, 53.6% of students met or exceeded expectations, an increase of 0.7 percentage point from 2019.
Statewide, 63.7% of students participated in the test, with a mean score of 742. In 2019, the mean seventh grade ELA score was 745.
This year, 42.6% of students met or exceeded expectations on the test, a drop of 3.9 percentage points from 2019.
In RE-1, 24.4% of students met or exceeded expectations on the test, a decrease of 1.8 percentage points from 2019.
In RE-4A, 25.9% of students met or exceeded expectations on the test, a decrease of 9.6 percentage points from 2019.
In 9-R, 38.9% of students met or exceeded expectations on the test, a decrease of 6.4 percentage points from 2019.
Statewide, 75.7% of students participated in the test, with a mean score of 729. The mean score in 2019 was 735. And 28.5% of fourth graders in Colorado met or exceeded expectations, down 5.1 percentage points from 2019.
More RE-1 students met or exceeded expectations on this test this year — 20.2%, an increase of 7.6 percentage points from 2019.
In Re-4A, 37.5% of students met or exceeded expectations, an increase of 0.2 percentage point from 2019.
In 9R, 22.3% of students met or exceeded expectations, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points from 2019.
Statewide, 68.6% of students participated in the test, with a mean score of 727, down from 732 in 2019.
Overall, 24.1% of sixth graders in Colorado met or exceeded expectations this year, a decrease of 5.4 percentage points from 2019.
In RE-1, 13.6% of students met or exceeded expectations on the sixth grade mathematics assessment, an increase of 3.3 percentage points from 2019.
In RE-4A, 7.8% met or exceeded expectations, a decrease of 11.4 percentage points from 2019.
In 9-R, 17.3% met or exceeded expectations, a decrease of 6.9 percentage points from 2019.
Statewide, 57.9% of students participated in the test. The mean score, 730, fell from 736 in 2019.
In 2021, 29.5% of eighth graders statewide met or exceeded expectations, a decrease of 7.4 percentage points from 2019.
In RE-1, 14.4% of students met or exceeded expectations on the test, a decrease of 7.6 percentage points from 2019.
In RE-4, 17.5% of students met or exceeded expectations on the test, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from 2019.
In 9-R, 25.6% of students met or exceeded expectations on the test, a decrease of 13.3 percentage points from 2019.
Statewide, 54.6% of students participated in the test, with a mean score of 568. The mean scale score in 2019 was 580.
Statewide, 26.4% of students met or exceeded expectations, a decrease of 5.1 percentage points from 31.5% in 2019.
In RE-1, 13.2% of students met or exceeded expectations on the test, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from 2019.
In RE-4A, 21.6% of students met or exceeded expectations, a decrease of 0.4 percentage point from 2019.
In 9-R, 25.4% of students met or exceeded expectations on the test, a decrease of 14.2 percentage points from 2019.
