Daily Press Writer
MONTROSE — Every year the Colorado Department of Education releases reports to the community, educators and parents assessing their district’s public schools. This data comes to the public in three different forms: No Child Left Behind Act, Accountability Reports and Accreditation Reports.
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“It would be delightful to report clearly and accurately to the community in one report,” said Linda Gann, Montrose School District Re-1J spokeswoman.
The three measurements, based on the CSAP scores, come out at three different times each year. Gann said each form uses different terms in assessing the school, making it confusing, even to some people inside education.
House Bill 1048 is a step toward clarification. The bill would develop a new long-term educational growth model, based on longitudinal analysis, to measure the academic growth of students, according to a House press release.
“It may be the linchpin on the whole look of how Colorado does accountability of schools,” Merrifield said. “It is the most fair and valuable way for evaluation of schools.”
Currently, the state spotlights one day, the day students take the CSAP tests, and then compares those scores the next year with the same grade level. It does not assess the students’ progress from one year to the next, which a longitudinal analysis would do.
CSAP scores tell whether a high academic standard has been met, Gann said, but it doesn’t and wasn’t designed to show longitudinal achievement.
The Montrose school district has some programs in place that measure longitudinal growth, she said, one being the Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress. MAP testing reflects the instructional level of each student and measures growth over time.
Gann said the test measures what a student knows and needs to learn, and provides results within 24 hours. This enables teachers to find out right away if a student needs help in an area, needs more of a challenge or is right on track.
The Colorado Department of Education has been working on a formula for longitudinal growth and received funding several years ago; according to Merrifield, H.B.1048 “demands they finish up.”
To proceed, the state needs a waiver from the federal government by Feb. 15.
The bill came before the House Tuesday and passed unanimously. Wednesday morning it went to the Senate’s education committee and Merrifield said he hopes it will pass the Senate by the end of the week.
“We must move beyond the snapshot method of assessing school performance to allow for continuous evaluation of Colorado’s educational progress,” Merrifield said in the release. “This is the first step.”
Gann said the Montrose school district is fortunate enough to have programs in place for longitudinal analysis, but smaller schools and districts don’t have the resources.
“It’s great as a state to look at something that meets longitudinal assessment,” she said. “I think we are all wanting the same thing.”
Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com
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