State school and district performance ratings arrived recently and the legislature’s task force on school assessment and accountability is now meeting. It’s a useful convergence to examine this trainwreck of attempts at judging how schools are doing their work.

Some history: Every year in March and April, third-through-eighth graders take the CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) tests in English/Language Arts and Math. Lucky children. In preparation, these students spend weeks learning how to take the tests and cramming for likely questions and content. Second-language learners, children whose first language isn’t English, take the tests after three to four years of English-language learning whether they’ve learned enough English or not.

In the previous decade, many parents realized this system was messed up. First, they noted time spent on test prep was time not spent on making progress on new learning. Then there’s the time on the tests themselves, usually a week or two of tests spread through the school days.

Based on vociferous parent objections to this time-wasting standardized testing process, the state legislature responded by allowing parents to opt their children “out” of the tests. These opt-out kids get the preparation all students receive, but they don’t take the tests. What do they do? They stay home or they partake in some sort of pastime at their schools.

The impact of “opt out” is an under-studied piece of state assessment. Its effect on school performance ratings is barely perceptible.

School districts are rated by the numbers. There are three categories: Districts of Distinction, Accredited Districts and Improvement Districts. Improvement districts have subcategories: priority and turnaround. To receive a Distinction rating, districts must earn at least 74 points on assessment criteria.

Twelve districts were rated Distinction in 2022. The highest rating was Cheyenne Mountain School District in the Broadmoor area at 84.3%. Aspen School District barely cleared the bar at 74.4%. Three districts dropped from Distinction to Accredited in 2023: Ridgway, Meeker, and Platte Valley R-2. The 2022 Distinction districts went 50-50 on test participation. Fifty percent met the 95% participation threshold and 50% had low participation.

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Cheyenne Mountain with its 84.3% performance had low participation. Telluride R-1, the second highest rated school at 80.4%, met the 95% threshold. Of the three districts that dropped from Distinction to Accredited in 2023, all met the 95% test-taking threshold. Of the 11 districts in Distinction in 2023, six had low participation and five met the 95% number. Academy School District north of Colorado Springs educated the most children among Distinction districts at 26,299. It’s an impressive achievement. But the district scored low participation.

The percentage of 113 studied school districts that “meet participation” declines by rating. Among Distinction districts, 55% scored low participation in 2023. Among Accredited districts, 61% scored low participation. Among Improvement Districts, 82% scored low participation. As a total, 78 districts scored low participation and 35 scored “meets participation,” or 69% low and 31% “meets.”

No parents can be blamed for opting their children out of a discriminatory testing system. The CMAS tests discriminate based on language skill, poverty, special education needs and minority status. High poverty and low English-language fluency among more 25-percent-plus of students determines a low performance rating.

Of five districts with the lowest performance ratings, only one meets participation in 2023: Sheridan with 1,177 students and 75% to 100% of children on free and reduced lunch. That “meets Participation” exceeds the performance of “Distinction” Aspen School District with 1,549 students. Do parents in Aspen and five other Distinction districts in 2023 know something about these tests that Sheridan parents missed? Sheridan met the testing participation rules apparently with no “well done” acknowledgment.

Low participation rates occur in public and charter district schools, with the Charter School Institute district rated Accredited with low participation, and BOCES Ed Re-Envisioned rated Priority Improvement with low participation.

Of course, many questions arise from these facts.

Why are parents in Distinction districts opting their children out of the CMAS tests?

Are parents rejecting the tests, the time spent preparing for the tests and/or the time spent on taking the tests?

Are some schools within districts “managing” which students take the tests?

To what extent does low participation, no matter the reasons, affect the accuracy of school and district performance ratings?

At what percent of low participation are test results at school and district levels not valid?

Should districts with low participation receive a Distinction rating when districts with lower ratings “meet” participation?

Are “Low Participation” rates a sign the parents with children in public schools, traditional and charter, no longer have faith in the state’s assessment system, especially its CMAS snapshot, once-a-year-in-March annual tests?

Are districts rated “Improvement” played for suckers when they meet participation without positive acknowledgment, even though the lowest rated districts carry the largest challenges of poverty and English-language learning among their students?

The legislature’s assessment task force surely needs to dig into these questions and facts. Though its report and decisions aren’t due until 2025, perhaps this information can push the deadline to 2024. Politicians aren’t always moved by facts. But in this case, educators agree consistent, ongoing assessment and grades are more accurate indicators of student progress than snapshot standardized tests. Many parents apparently agree.

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform.