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Colorado Education Archive2
 [JPG
566KB] The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is the
administrative arm of the Colorado State Board
of Education (SBE). As indicated on
its official
website, the SBE is charged by the Colorado Constitution with the general
supervision of the public schools. The SBE has numerous
powers and duties
specified in state law. CDE, in turn, has
many
tasks and
responsibilities, which are assigned as illustrated by the one-page CDE
organizational chart [PDF 128KB].
The
Colorado Model
Content Standards represent the fundamental knowledge and skills Coloradoans
expect that students should possess at various intervals as they move through
their educational careers. CDE is
the best source for information about these requirements.
CDE released on July 29, 2008 the
results
of the 2008 Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP). CDE released on
December 5, 2007 the
School Accountability Reports (SARs)
for each Colorado school. ICAN has
provided comments and other information on the
Colorado SAR Ratings page and on the Colorado
CSAP page and its lower-level pages for tabulations of the 1997-2008 results
for Reading,
Writing, Math,
and Science.
CDE has extensive information
necessary to understand the processes used to allot funds to Colorado school
districts. The CDE Public
School Finance page also provides links to a statewide summary of public
education funding, district-by-district data, and a downloadable worksheet that
can be used to calculate individual district funding.
CDE has a statewide
management strategy
for school improvement based upon this process for accountability: "Holding
ourselves (students, parents, educators, and community members) responsible for
meeting identified student achievement targets through a continuous cycle of
planning, evaluation, and reporting.... Accountability is the effective use of
information to focus energy toward the attainment of student results."
ICAN objects to "shoot-the-messenger" approaches by
"education establishment" leaders to attempt to divert attention from
previously-hidden student academic achievement problems by discrediting valid
education reform efforts. For example, the September 18, 2003
draft report [PDF 790KB]
by the Donnell-Kay Foundation (DKF), and endorsed by the Colorado Association of
School Executives (CASE), is highly critical of three mandated accountability
systems in Colorado:
- The DKF and CASB cover letter states: "...As you know, District
Accreditation (Accreditation), the School Accountability Reports (SARs), and
the Colorado implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) provide a
patchwork of laws and requirements that are overwhelming and often
overburdensome for schools and school districts statewide....";
- The three-page "Educational Accountability Systems in Colorado" enclosure
identifies inconsistencies that exist among the three systems;
- Then the seven-page "Alignment of Colorado's K-12 Educational
Accountability Systems" enclosure emphasizes that there are "few points of
commonality";
- Finally, the 11-page "Accountability Maps (Accreditation, SARs, and
NCLB)" enclosure is a detailed matrix of school and district requirements
for data, comparison methods, performance levels, rewards (cut scores),
consequences (cut scores), reporting, and reference to original document.
ICAN strongly agrees with the more-sensible perspective of
Accreditation, SARs, and NCLB as outlined by SBE and CDE officials:
- They are different but
essentially complementary systems of accountability that establish benchmarks
for progress and consequences when schools persistently fail to meet them:
-
All three
focus on improving student achievement.
-
All three
utilize CSAP to measure progress.
-
All three
allow for refinement through legislative action.
- Accreditation:
-
It is the principal instrument for enforcing all of Colorado’s education
laws.
-
Assesses district performance using multiple indicators and a broader body
of evidence than just CSAP.
-
Consequences include incremental steps (Accreditation Watch, Probation)
leading to loss of Accreditation.
- School Accountability Reports (SARs):
-
Rates performance and improvement for all schools.
-
Strong focus on core academic subjects of reading, writing, and math.
-
Consequences including reconstitution for persistently unsatisfactory
schools.
- No Child Left Behind (NCLB):
-
Primary focus on closing the achievement gap.
-
Requires “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) for all student groups
disaggregating scores by ethnicity, language ability, and handicap.
-
Consequences include expanded choice options, reconstitution, and loss of
federal funding.
ICAN
is aware
that there have been many obvious attempts by the
"education establishment" to adversely weaken accountability
requirements for Colorado school districts, schools, and officials (school
boards, superintendents, etc.). Governor Bill Owens (before his
term-limited departure in January, 2007) had effectively
opposed attempts to weaken those statutory requirements.
However, ICAN has noted that some persons aligned with Colorado
"education establishment" organizations have continued to implement more tactics
to weaken accountability for student academic performance.
The three-page introduced HB08-1186
[PDF 14KB] (exception of certain students' scores from calculations of a
school's academic performance rating reported on SARs) was introduced in the
House on January 17, 2008 and assigned to the Education committee (HEC):
-
HEC amended (9-4 vote) the bill on February 7.
-
The House Committee of the Whole (HCW) on Second Reading made more
amendments and passed (53-11 vote) the amended bill on Third Reading on
February 18.
-
That five-page reengrossed HB08-1186
[PDF 30KB] was introduced in the Senate on February 20 and assigned to
the Education committee (SEC).
-
SEC amended (4-3 vote) the bill on March 20.
-
The Senate Committee of the Whole (SCW) on Second Reading made more
amendments and passed (20-14 vote) the five-page rerevised HB08-1186
[PDF 31KB] bill on Third Reading on March 27.
-
The First Conference Committee (FCC) struck sections 1 and 2 of the
rerevised version and adopted (5-1 vote) the report (result
is that scores are not excepted, but no school district or school shall
penalize a student who is absent and does not take the CSAP) on
April 9 as noted in the
Bill Summary.
-
On April 25 SCW adopted (33-0 vote) the FCC report and repassed (22-11 vote) the
bill as amended.
-
On April 30 HCW adopted (56-8 vote) the FCC report and repassed (57-7 vote)
the bill as amended.
-
On May 19 the three-page HB08-1186 was
sent to Governor Ritter, who vetoed this bill on June 5 as noted in his
veto message.
Governor Ritter's "Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K)" called for
development of a comprehensive education reform strategy that would align PK
(preschool), K-12, and postsecondary educational systems:
-
The two-page
outline
[PDF 27KB] of elements of that proposal was presented at the January 17,
2008 Joint Education Committee meeting, which was attended by all 20 members.
-
The 40-page introduced SB08-212
[PDF 129KB] (alignment of preschool to postsecondary education) was
introduced in the Senate on March 24 and assigned to the Education (SEC) and
Appropriations (SAC) committees.
-
On March 27 SEC passed 13 amendments and unanimously (6-0 vote) referred
the 47-page
preamended SB08-212
[PDF 157KB] to the SAC for consideration of a to-be-prepared fiscal note.
-
On April 11 SAC passed one amendment and unanimously (10-0 vote)
referred the 47-page
preamended SB08-212
[PDF 158KB] to the Senate Committee of the Whole (SCW) for consideration.
-
SCW on Second Reading passed nine amendments on April 16 and nine more
amendments on April 17, and then on Third Reading on April 18 unanimously
(31-0 vote) passed the 63-page
reengrossed SB08-212
[PDF 214KB].
-
That bill then was introduced in the House on April 18 and assigned to
the Education (HEC) and Appropriations (HAC) committees.
-
Additional information is in the two-page April 17 CDE
news release
[PDF 27KB] ("Commissioner Dwight D. Jones Raises Concerns About Rush to
Adopt Assessments Before Standards"), the April 17
Rocky Mountain News
article
("ACT at heart of ed reform"), the April 17
Rocky Mountain News
article
("Overhauling Ritter's ed bill; Lawmakers back amended version focusing on
ACT"), the April 18 Denver Post
article ("Plan
alters school testing; Educators are split over a proposal to align standards
with the ACT test"), the April 24
Rocky Mountain News
article ("House panel restores parts of ed bill; It puts back ideas Senate
took out of school reform"), the April 28
Rocky Mountain News
article
("Ed reform debate seesaws between ACT, new standard"), and the April
28 Denver Post article ("House
takes up plan to reform public education").
-
On April 24 and April 28 HEC passed significant
amendments
[PDF 56KB] and referred (12-1 vote) the bill to HAC.
-
On May 1 HAC amended the HEC report and unanimously (8-3 vote) referred the
62-page preamended SB08-212
[PDF 261KB] to the House Committee of the Whole (HCW) for consideration.
-
On May 1 HCW on Second Reading made four amendments (including the HEC and
HAC reports) and passed the 63-page revised
SB08-212
[PDF 270KB].
-
On May 2 HCW on Third Reading made one amendment and passed (60-4 vote) the
63-page rerevised SB08-212
[PDF 270KB].
-
Additional information is available in the May 4 Denver Post
editorial
("Stagnant scores but useful results").
-
On May 5 SCW did not concur with the House amendments and requested a
conference committee.
-
On May 5 the First Conference Committee (FCC) unanimously adopted the
rerevised version with amendments to be considered by SCW and HCW on May 6.
-
On May 6 HCW adopted (59-4 vote) the FCC report and readopted (59-4 vote) the
bill as amended.
-
On May 6 SCW adopted (34-0 vote) the FCC report and readopted (34-0 vote)
the bill as amended.
-
On May 14 the 48-page SB08-212 was sent to
Governor Ritter, who signed this bill on May 14 as noted in his
press release.
In 2008 the most brazen attempt to weaken statutory requirements for
accountability for student academic performance was HB08-1357 (alignment of CSAPs
with minimum federal requirements):
-
That bill amends CSAP testing to eliminate all writing CSAPs in grades
3-8 and all CSAPs in grades 9 and 10.
-
It directs CDE to apply to the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver
to allow the use of the ACT as the single high school assessment.
-
The 13-page
introduced HB08-1357
[PDF 39KB] was introduced in the House on March 10, 2008 and assigned to
the Education committee (HEC).
-
On March 20 HEC passed two amendments and on a 7-6 mostly party-line
vote referred the 14-page preamended HB08-1357
[PDF 45KB] to the House Committee of the Whole (HCW) for consideration as
noted in the
Bill Summary.
-
Additional information is in the March 20 Denver Post
article
("Teachers group backs plan to drop state test for 10th-graders"), the
March 21
Rocky Mountain News
article
("Measure to curtail CSAPs advances; House bill would cut writing exam"), and
the April 8
Rocky Mountain News
article
("Testing bill fails to make grade; Ritter opposes measure to pare scope of
CSAP").
-
HCW Second Reading on April 29 adopted (voice vote) the HEC report
and then passed (voice vote) the preamended bill without further amendment
on April 30.
-
On May 1 HCW passed (35-29 vote) on Third Reading without amendment the 14-page
reengrossed HB08-1357
[PDF 48KB].
-
That bill reportedly is supported by teachers' unions (CEA and AFT) and
opposed by most other major education groups (e.g., CASE, CASB, SBE,
and CDE).
-
That bill then was introduced in the Senate on May 2 and assigned to
the Education (SEC) committee.
-
On May 5 SEC postponed indefinitely (4-3 vote) that bill as noted in the
Bill Summary.
Another contentious issue in 2008 involved possible merger of the Department of
Education and the Department of Higher Education:
-
Preliminary information is in the April 4 Denver Post
article
("AP NewsBreak: Lawmakers want to abolish education boards").
-
The three-page
introduced HJR08-1027
[PDF 14KB] (creation of an interim committee to examine the feasibility
of merging the departments that oversee education in Colorado) was introduced
in the House on April 11, 2008 and assigned to the Education committee (HEC).
-
HEC considered that resolution on April 21 and then on April 24 without
amendment passed (6-5 vote) it to the House Committee of the Whole (HCW) for
consideration.
-
Additional information is in the April 22 Denver Post
article
("Lawmakers may review abolishing education panels") and the April 22
Rocky Mountain News
article
("Legislators will study eliminating school panels").
-
On May 2 HCW passed (56-6 vote) on Third Reading that resolution.
-
That resolution then was introduced in the House on May 2 and assigned to
the Education (SEC) committee.
-
On May 5 SEC postponed indefinitely (4-3 vote) that resolution as noted
in the
Bill Summary.
The Colorado Closing the Achievement Gap Commission was created in 2003 by
the General Assembly under C.R.S. 22-7-612. The State Board of Education reviewed the 37-page November 1, 2004 interim
report [PDF 132KB] of the
Commission and responded with a six-page
commentary [PDF 28KB].
Commission members presented their report and answered questions at the February
2, 2005 joint meeting [PDF 38KB]
of the House Education Committee and the Senate Education Committee. The
Commission's 42-page final report [PDF
405KB] was issued on November 16, 2005. The
Commission's website page
has additional information.
More information is available on the ICAN
Colorado Education Archive1 page.
Last modified:
03/21/2009
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