Fewer than half of last year’s third graders in Colorado public schools could read and write at grade level.
This means that just 40.8% of kids now entering fourth grade are able to read and understand a variety of texts and write essays supported by facts, standardized test results released last week by the Colorado Department of Education show.
This is despite a 2012 state law that made reading and writing a priority, with Colorado spending nearly $39 million this year on strengthening literacy among young readers, including by training teachers and administrators in the science of reading.
But there’s more to the story, educators say.
Colorado schools assess students every spring beginning in third grade using the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, part of a federal requirement to gauge whether students in elementary, middle and high school are meeting academic standards set by the state in subjects including reading, writing, math, science and social studies. It’s what Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova calls “a measuring stick” so that state leaders, teachers and parents understand how their kids are doing in school compared with their peers in other districts.
Yet the consequences for poor performance on CMAS are significant. School districts receive one of six accreditation ratings from the state largely influenced by how their students score on CMAS. Those that are high performing earn the title of “distinction.” And on the other end of the spectrum, the state assigns the lowest-performing districts a “turnaround” rating.
Read the full story on the Colorado Sun's website.
