The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Help them become proficient”
Starting this year, kids in school districts across the state will be evaluated by how their Colorado Student Assessment Program, or CSAP, scores progress through the years and not only by how they perform relative to their peers, according to a new Colorado Growth Model discussed at an RE1J school board work session on Monday, August 25.
Previously, the state deemed students advanced, proficient, partially proficient or unsatisfactory in reading, writing, mathematics and science based on the results of the test. Beginning in August, students and schools will be rated as excelling, sustaining, improving or underperforming in the same subjects.
“What this does is allow the teachers and the administration to see how students are progressing in different subjects. Instead of seeing that a student is partially proficient in a subject year after year, this will let us see how they are improving or not so we can put the focus in the right areas to help them become proficient,” says Dr. Chris Purkiss, director of curriculum and assessment for the district.
Already data from the past three years is available in the new model, and data from the last round of CSAPs will be available for individual students on September 2. In the new model, RE1J schools other than the Gunnison Valley School and Marble Charter School, which were not included in the data set, are improving, sustaining or excelling.
