Preliminary performance frameworks released Tuesday suggest positive momentum in schools and districts across the state, with the Colorado Springs area slightly trailing in its improvement. Ratings followed a similar trend to state test scores released earlier this month.

The Colorado Department of Education reports a greater percentage of schools and districts earned higher marks than in 2022. Locally, 10 of the Pikes Peak region’s 17 districts received fewer performance points compared to last year, and just seven are satisfactorily accredited.

CDE’s annual frameworks serve as an accountability system for schools and districts by gauging student outcomes and assigning points based on three performance indicators: achievement, growth and postsecondary workforce readiness. Using a percentage of those earned points, CDE then assigns ratings to determine which schools require extra support and what level of accreditation districts will receive.

Colorado Springs-area students’ test scores trail statewide averages

Preliminary ratings are subject to change until the Colorado State Board of Education finalizes them at its November or December meetings.

“I am pleased that we continue to see some improvement in our schools and districts after a tough three years,” Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said in a news release. “We know that students and staff have been working incredibly hard these past years and the improvements shown on these preliminary results are a reflection of those efforts. Additionally, this information can help us determine where we need to focus our efforts to help schools that are still struggling.”

District accreditation and school ratings follow a tiered system. Those receiving a satisfactory percentage of points are rated performance, and those that fall just short are rated improvement. High-performing districts are also eligible for an accreditation with distinction rating.

Especially low-performers in need of more drastic changes are given priority improvement or turnaround ratings and are placed on a so-called accountability watch list. These schools and districts have about five years to demonstrate improvement and escape the watch list or else they could face outside intervention from the Colorado State Board of Education.

Whereas Cripple Creek-Victor School District RE-1 escaped the state watch list with a 13-percentage-point gain and bump to an improvement rating this year, preliminary data show, Ellicott School District 22 and Hanover School District 28 joined the watch list with drops to priority improvement ratings.

Cripple Creek-Victor school shows improvement in state testing

D-28 earned the lowest percentage of points with 45.1%, a sharp drop of 17.2 percentage points from its 2019 score, the last year in which D-28 earned points due to insufficient data.

District 49 earned the second-lowest percentage of points with 45.3%, down 4.2 percentage points from 2022. D-49 did, however, improve both of its priority improvement schools to improvement status, shedding them from the state’s accountability watch list.

Colorado Springs School District 11 also saw positive outcomes for many of its watch-list schools after hosting a predictive data analysis news conference last week. Its celebratory projections proved largely accurate.

The district did shed seven of 15 schools from last year’s state watch list, but it also added two more: Palmer High School and Roosevelt Charter Academy, which dropped one and two ratings, respectively.

D-11 still saw net-positive movement, cutting its watch list schools down by one-third, to 10.

“That is unprecedented growth and achievement, but the work doesn’t stop here,” school board President Parth Melpakam said at last week’s news conference. “The strategy that we have put in place, this outcome shows that it is working. And it’s going to take some time to change this district, but we are invested in this and are going to go into this with urgency.”

D-11 accounts for nearly half of the region’s 21 watch-list schools this year. Harrison School District 2 accounts for the next-largest batch with six.

Colorado Springs District 11 projects half of low-performing schools will escape state watch list

Four of Harrison’s schools joined the watch list this year in place of one that escaped, thereby doubling D-2’s watch-list schools from three to six. The district retains its overall “performance” rating status, however, making it one of just seven in the region not requiring an improvement or priority improvement plan at the district level.

While the Pikes Peak region trended slightly downward in its percentage of points earned, the region is still home to several top-performing districts.

Academy School District 20, Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 and Lewis-Palmer School District 38 each received accreditation with distinction. Only 11 districts, or 6% of districts statewide, received this designation.

Every D-20 and D-12 school with sufficient data received performance ratings. D-20 is also home to five of the state’s top 10 schools based on percentage of points earned under the performance framework, and D-38 is home to three top 10 schools.

“Our work as educators is never-ending, but today, please pause and enjoy this moment. Do a happy dance, or a fist bump, or whatever celebration you choose. Please know that I’m cheering alongside you,” D-20 Superintendent Jinger Haberer said in a video to staff.

“This is a direct reflection of the extraordinary dedication and hard work of our teachers, principals, parents and students,” she continued in a written statement. “It’s not every day you are honored for 15 consecutive years of achievement!”

D-20, D-12 and D-38 are three of four districts in the state to achieve distinction every year since ratings launched in 2008.

“Our staff work tirelessly, and their efforts are seen and appreciated. Our entire district is also proud of our students for their hard work, as well as thankful to our families who support our work and bolster the successes of all students,” Superintendent KC Somers wrote in a newsletter to district families. “… While we celebrate this win for our district and our students, we intend to focus our efforts now and moving forward on intensely innovating to continue moving the landscape of education forward to benefit our region’s students.”

Pikes Peak region watch list schools include the following, in descending order of percentage of points earned:

• Mesa Ridge High School, Widefield School District 3, 50.4% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Ellicott Senior High School, Ellicott School District 22, 49.5% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Palmer High School, Colorado Springs School District 11, 47.8% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Hanover Junior-Senior High School, Hanover School District 28, 46.8% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Columbia Elementary School, Colorado Springs School District 11, 41.5% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Roosevelt Charter Academy, Colorado Springs School District 11, 41.3% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Wildflower Elementary School, Harrison School District 2, 41.3% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Audubon Elementary School, Colorado Springs School District 11, 41.1% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Jack Swigert Aerospace Academy, Colorado Springs School District 11, 41.1% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Carmel Community School, Harrison School District 2, 40.4% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Giberson Elementary School, Harrison School District 2, 40.4% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Panorama Middle School, Harrison School District 2, 40.0% of points earned.
• James Madison Charter Academy, Widefield School District 3, 39.5% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Galileo School of Math and Science, Colorado Springs School District 11, 39.4% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Harrison High School, Harrison School District 2, 39.1% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Mann Middle School, Colorado Springs School District 11, 35.7% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Mitchell High School, Colorado Springs School District 11, 35.5% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Atlas Preparatory Elementary School, Harrison School District 2, 35.4% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Midland Elementary School, Colorado Springs School District 11, 34.8% of points earned, priority improvement.
• Twain Elementary School, Colorado Springs School District 11, 32.5% of points earned, turnaround.
• Prairie Heights Elementary School, Hanover School District 28, 32.5% of points earned, turnaround.