While Colorado continues to see steady progress in student growth and achievement, progress in the Pikes Peak region isn’t quite as consistent, according to test score data released this week by the state.

Statewide, this year’s Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) scores are at or above pre-pandemic levels in all grades except fourth grade in English language arts (ELA) and eighth grade for ELA and math.

The COVID-19 pandemic prevented school officials from administering CMAS testing in the 2019-20 academic year. Because of the learning losses attributed to that year, educators now consider 2019 scores a benchmark year. 

While all districts collectively improved their ELA and math percentages in meeting grade-level expectations by .27% and 1.1% respectively, the 17 districts across El Paso and Teller counties experienced a 2.5% drop in ELA scores and a .5% bump in math scores.

Around the Pikes Peak region, Cheyenne Mountain District 12, Academy D-20 and Lewis-Palmer D-38 once again ranked as the highest performing school districts, though D-12 and D-38 both saw a slight decline in total students who meet or exceed state English language standards.

When accounting for this year’s ELA and math results, Cheyenne Mountain D-12 and Academy D-20 both ranked in the top 10 across the state at four and 10, respectively. D-38 ranked 12th this year.

Trailing the three districts of distinction is Manitou Springs D-14, which continued to improve its scores in both ELA and math to 55% and 41% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in those respective categories.

The only school district in the region to report greater improvements than D-14 in both subjects was Ellicott D-2, which improved its ELA scores by 9.8% and its math scores by 5%. The average grade-level achievement is now 36.8% for ELA and 20.3% in math.

Although Colorado Springs D-11 sits in the middle of the pack in terms of local achievement scores, the district’s Chipeta Elementary School on the city’s northwest side boasted the highest percentages of any school in the region. According to the state, 75.4% of Chipeta’s students met or exceeded ELA expectations and 76% met or exceeded math expectations.

Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 posted the lowest scores in both categories across Teller and El Paso counties, with 25% of students meeting or exceeding ELA standards and 9% meeting the benchmark for math.

In El Paso County, Edison 54-JT posted the single worst year-to-year drop in student performance in Colorado, dropping 41.4% in ELA scores and 14.3% in math scores. Because of the rural district’s small enrollment of less than 100 students, it has a greater propensity for volatile shifts in achievement.

Unlike last year, when the district saw massive improvements in ELA and math scores, Woodland Park RE-2’s scores dropped in both categories by about one percentage point.

Statewide, 44.8% of students met or exceeded expectations in English, the highest percentage since the test was introduced in the 2014-15 school year. Nearly 36% of students met or exceeded math expectations, a new high for the state.

Unlike last year, when the state reported severe drops in high school math scores, this year’s test results saw slight improvements in 10th and 11th grades, 2.5% and 1.4% respectively, while ninth grade saw a decrease of 2%. Last year’s scores showed drops ranging from four to seven percentiles in all three grades.

State testing a mixed bag with slight gains in elementary, big drops in high school math

Student participation rates in the tests rose to 89.1% this year.

Although these rates continue to trail the 2019 peak of 94.4%, they mark the next highest level of participation since the tests were introduced.

“We’re encouraged by the progress many student groups are making,” Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said in a statement. “At the same time, we know there is work ahead to ensure more students are meeting Colorado’s academic expectations across every grade and subject.” 

State and school-level achievement and growth results are available on CDE’s website. District-level metrics can be found at tinyurl.com/yr93k5x3. 

A Flourish chart

Gazette contributor Evan Wyloge provided the data analysis of Colorado Measures of Academic Success test scores.