AURORA | Colorado students made up ground from last year but are still lagging academically compared to where they were pre-pandemic, according to new statewide testing scores released this week by the Department of Education.
On Wednesday the department published the state and districtwide results of the standardized Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) tests taken this spring, the first time the full slate of tests were administered since 2019. The tests were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a scaled-back version was administered last year, which many students did not end up taking.
Participation rates rebounded significantly this year, approaching levels similar to 2019. But while students gained academic ground since 2021, the Department of Education said that there is “more work to be done” for students to fully recover academically from the pandemic.
The tests were administered this year to students in grades three through eight in English language arts (ELA) and math. In a news release, the Department of Education said that scores improved from 2021 for most grades, “however, those scores declined from 2019 in almost every grade level and subject area.”
That was borne out locally, as both Cherry Creek and Aurora Public Schools students performed worse this year than in 2019, with APS students having a larger decrease in performance.
According to the data, in 2022, 23.6% of APS students met or exceeded expectations on the ELA exam compared to 26.4% in 2019, a 2.8% decrease.
In math, just 13.8% met or exceeded expectations this year compared to 18.2% in 2019, a 4.4% decrease.
In the Cherry Creek School District, 49.4% of students met or exceeded expectations on the ELA exam this year compared to 50.8% in 2019, a slight decrease of 1.4%.
In math, 40.2% met or exceeded expectations this year compared to 43.1% in 2019, a 2.9% decrease.
Both districts have allocated a significant amount of federal pandemic relief funding to addressing learning loss, which officials say will be a multi-year effort.
In the release, the department said that, statewide, the 2021-2022 school year was much more regular for students than the year preceding it. The ongoing disruption of the pandemic, however, should be taken into consideration when evaluating the scores.
“Today, we celebrate the fact that student scores were better in most cases than they were in 2021, but we continue to face the challenge of fully bringing kids back to the levels they were before the disruptions of the pandemic as well as closing the historic opportunity and achievement gaps,” said Colorado Education Commissioner Katy Anthes said in a statement.
As long as these poor uneducated saps can file their tax returns and the state,city and county can get their 8% it’s okay.yeah keep building new schools instead of paying teachers a decent wage, ma k e sure the admin staff is huge, oh yeah mental health for students… it’s the Corrupt world view of these supposed educators who are letting OUR children down but its a lot easier to blame a child for an adults ineptitude.