“We are very pleased with the scores,” said Steve Getchell,
principal at Trailblazer Elementary School, “knowing our teachers
have focused on standards and quality education since day one. We
take the scores seriously as one form of assessment out of
many.”
By By:Alex C. Pasquariello
For the fifth year, Douglas County third-graders performed above
the state average on the Colorado Student Assessment Program
reading tests.
“We are very pleased with the scores,” said Steve Getchell,
principal at Trailblazer Elementary School, “knowing our teachers
have focused on standards and quality education since day one. We
take the scores seriously as one form of assessment out of
many.”
Overall, 86 percent of the county’s third-graders are reading at
a proficient or advanced level, compared with a statewide average
of 74 percent. Those numbers in Douglas County and Colorado
remained unchanged from 2003.
“We are happy with the results, but there is no room for
complacency,” said Nancee Sprigg, director of assessment for
Douglas County schools.
The district’s third-graders continually score higher than the
state average because of teachers’ dedication, she said.Schools
administered CSAP tests in February to students in grades three
through 10 in reading, writing, math and science. Third-graders
were tested only in reading comprehension over two 50-minute
sessions. They read several passages and wrote responses to a
series of questions.
Five of the Castle Rock area’s 11 elementary schools scored at
or above the district average of 86 percent.
Academy Charter paced all Castle Rock schools with 97 percent
scoring at or above proficiency levels and 3 percent scoring
partially proficient. The school had no unsatisfactory
scores.
Kindra Whitmyre-Nelson, Academy Charter’s dean, credited the
school’s success to five years of consistent teaching, programing
and leadership aligned with the district’s high standards. Academy
Charter’s Core Knowledge curriculum is a content-driven,
back-to-basics instructional model.
But the low scores, not the high ones, caught Whitmyre-Nelson’s
attention.
“I want to know who’s part of that 3 percent and what I can do
to help them,” she said.
Castle Rock’s two new elementary schools, which opened this
school year, also did well.
Timber Trail Elementary saw 88 percent of its third-graders
score at or above proficiency levels. At Flagstone Elementary, 79
percent scored at or above proficient levels.
“On one level, we face the same challenges as all the other
schools because it’s the first time any third-grader has taken
tests like these,” Flagstone Principal Susan McConaghy said. “But
as a new school, we work hard to make sure our reading curriculum
is aligned with the district’s standards and our teachers and
students know what to expect on the tests.”
Rock Ridge Elementary registered the lowest marks for Castle
Rock and Douglas County schools, with 72 percent of its
third-graders scoring at or above proficiency levels, 17 percent at
partially proficient and 9 percent unsatisfactory.
South Street Elementary posted Castle Rock’s second-lowest
score, with 75 percent at or above proficiency levels, 14 percent
at partially proficient and 3 percent unsatisfactory.
Both Rock Ridge and South receive federal Title I funding
because they have a high percentage of students who qualify for
free or reduced lunch. South also has a large population of
students who speak English as a second language.
South Principal Carrie Stephenson had no comment about her
school’s CSAP scores and Rock Ridge Principal Pam Arnold could not
be reached.
The county’s Title I schools use additional federal funding to
provide one-on-one reading instruction to first- and second-grade
students in need of extra help, said Cheryl DeLong, the districts’
literacy coordinator.
“The additional funding is meant to level the playing field for
low-income students,” she said. “Many of these kids are English
learners or are new to our district and have not been exposed to
consistent reading instruction.”
The Colorado Basic Literacy Act requires third-grade scores be
released by May 1 so that teachers can tailor individual literacy
plans for students who need additional help in time for the next
school year.
Colorado schools also use CSAP results to measure their progress
toward No Child Left Behind standards, a federal program that
requires individual students to score at a certain level, said Jo
O’Brien, supervisor of assessment in the Colorado Department of
Education’s Office of Learning and Results.
She noted that because Colorado maintains a higher threshold for
reading proficiency than most other states, students scoring in the
partially proficient range on the CSAP still meet federal
requirements for literacy.
“The research shows if you don’t catch a failing student in
these early grades, it will be significantly more difficult for
them to ever master the basics,” she said.
To see statewide CSAP results, visit
www.cde.state.co.us/
index_assess.htm.