Colorado students' test scores drop from pre-pandemic levels across grades and subject areas; youngest test takers show rebound

State assessment results show significant catch-up work remains for Colorado students to perform at grade level after the pandemic, and that historically underserved populations of students, particularly English learners, were disproportionately impacted by the disruptions in learning. While many scores improved over 2021, the percent of students performing at or above grade level was down from 2019 across almost all grades and subject areas.

The sharpest drop in achievement happened in ninth-grade math, where the percentage of ninth-graders who met or exceeded expectations on the PSAT fell 8.8 percentage points from 2019.

Roughly 4 in 10 ninth-graders met expectations in math, and more than 6 in 10 meet expectations in evidence-based reading and writing. In the third grade, roughly 4 in 10 students meet expectations in both reading and math.

"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.

Colorado Chief Assessment Officer Joyce Zurkowski said she would not have predicted that third graders would be so close to where they were in 2019: on the third-grade English language arts CMAS test, nearly the same percentage of students met or exceeded expectations in 2022 as they did in 2019 –  40.7% in 2022, 41.3% in 2019.  The fact third graders "are rebounding more quickly than some of our other grades I think is a piece of really good news," Zurkowski said.

Proficiency (Grades 3 - 8)               English Language Arts                 Math

ALL DISTRICTS                                          43.2%                                   31.5%

Denver Public Schools                                39.4%                                   28.8 %

JeffCo. Public Schools                                 50.2%                                  37.4%

DougCo Public Schools                               59.7%                                  49%

Cherry Creek School District                        49.4%                                 40.2%

Aurora Public Schools                                  23.6%                                 13.8%

Adams 12 Five Star Schools                        40.6%                                 30.8%

St. Vrain Valley Schools                               46.9%                                 37.5%

Poudre School District                                  56.7%                                 47.6%

Boulder Valley School District                      60.9%                                 48.6%

Greeley-Evans/Weld District 6                      29.8%                                17.4%

Aurora Public Schools' scores lagged those of neighboring districts and the state.  Aurora serves students from 130 countries, with 42% qualifying as second language learners and 74.2% qualifying for free and reduced price lunch, a measure of poverty.  In Aurora, 23.6% of third through eighth graders perform at grade level in English Language Arts and 13.8% are proficient in math.

Aurora Public Schools Public Information Officer Corey Christiansen said, "We continually work to identify areas of additional support that our students need and we have been maximizing our ESSER funding to address student learning loss through tutoring, intervention and summer school.  All students are also receiving additional social-emotional learning and mental health support."

Douglas County Schools stand out for their growth relative to performance in 2019, relatively unaffected by pandemic disruption.  With the exception of sixth and seventh grade math, Douglas County students moved up at other grade levels, with 59.7% of third through eighth graders measuring proficient in English Language Arts and 49% scoring proficient in math.

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"I am incredibly proud of our educators and our students - their hard work during an unprecedented time is evident in these results. We are so fortunate in DCSD to have such a supportive community, where parents and educators partner together to focus on the success of our students. We look forward to building on this momentum in order to ensure our students have the brightest futures possible," said Douglas County Schools Superintendent Erin Kane.

Commissioner Anthes added, "The hard work from teachers, parents and students over the past year has been remarkable, and with support from the COVID relief funds targeted at addressing lost learning opportunities, I'm confident we will continue our rebound."

Assessment results for all Colorado schools and districts can be found on CDE's website.

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) said districts and schools were provided with student level results in June and CMAS hard copy student performance reports were sent to districts in July. Districts will send families their students' individual reports that show the subject areas where their child is excelling as well as where they may need more support.

CDE has created several resources to help parents understand their students' scores and also has translated the material into Spanish. Those resources include:

• Understanding score reports for CMAS tests
• Understanding English Language Arts and Math Score Reports
• State Assessment Fact Sheet
• Frequently asked questions

To access the materials for parents and families, please visit CDE's Resources for Parents website.