The School Accountability Reports are a publicly-available principal measure of the cumulative success by schools to meet the academic learning needs of their students.  Each year the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) publishes the School Accountability Reports (SARs) about individual schools in Colorado.  The information includes a school's overall academic performance rating, academic growth of students rating, student performance, staff data, safety and school environment, district taxpayer's report, and other items.

SAR academic ratings for 2007 and 2008 use a seven-page defined methodology [DOC 221KB] for calculating the Overall Academic Performance Index (OAPI) score (also called the Overall Standardized Weighted Total Score, or OSWTS) and assigning the ratings (Excellent, High, Average, Low, and Unsatisfactory) based upon the cumulative frequency distribution cut scores for each school category (elementary, middle, and high) established with 2002 data.

On December 5, 2007 CDE released on its official website the 2007 SAR OAPI scores and OAPI ratings for academic performance of each Colorado school:

• The ICAN one-page tabulation [PDF 14KB] shows LPS SAR OAPI scores for the past six years (2002-2007) for all 26 LPS schools.
• ICAN also has prepared an LPS SAR OAP scatterplot [PDF 186KB] of 2007 SAR score vs. 2006 SAR score with a no-change reference line.
• Thirteen of the LPS scores for 2007 went up from 2006, and 13 went down:
  • Eight of 17 elementary schools went up, and nine went down.
  • Five of six middle schools went up, and one went down.
  • All three high schools went down.
  • The largest score gains were for Ames ES, Goddard MS, and Littleton Preparatory charter school.
  • The largest score losses were for Whitman ES, Hopkins ES, and Heritage HS.
• Fourteen (54% of 26) of the LPS schools were in the top 20% of their school groups (elementary, middle, and high school).
• Seven (27% of 26) of the LPS schools (Littleton Academy ES, Wilder ES, Lenski ES, Peabody ES, Franklin ES, Littleton Academy MS, and Arapahoe HS) were in the top 10% of their school groups.
• The LPS group leaders did especially well compared to the other Colorado schools:
  • Littleton Academy charter school and Wilder ES were 21st highest elementary schools (top 2.1%).
  • Littleton Academy charter school was 4th highest middle school (top 0.8%).
  • Arapahoe HS was 17th highest high school (top 4.7%).

On December 5, 2007 CDE also released the School Accountability Reports for each Colorado school.  The six-page December 5 LPS news release [PDF 50KB] has this lead-in statement: All LPS schools again rated "excellent," "high," or "average" on 2006-2007 School Accountability Reports.  That news release includes the Overall Academic Performance ratings, Academic Growth of Students ratings, and other information about LPS student performance.

On December 9, 2008 CDE released on its official website the 2008 SAR OAPI scores and OAPI ratings for academic performance of each Colorado school:

• The ICAN one-page tabulation [PDF 15KB] shows LPS SAR OAPI scores for the past six years (2003-2008) for all 26 LPS schools.
• ICAN also has prepared an LPS SAR OAP scatterplot [PDF 172KB] of 2008 SAR score vs. 2007 SAR score with a no-change reference line.
• Thirteen of the LPS scores for 2008 went up from 2007, and 13 went down:
  • Ten of 17 elementary schools went up, and seven went down.
  • Two of six middle schools went up, and four went down.
  • One of three high schools went up, and two went down.
  • The largest score gains were for Whitman ES and Lenski ES.
  • The largest score losses were for Runyon ES and Highland ES.
• Twelve (46% of 26) of the LPS schools were in the top 20% of their school groups (elementary, middle, and high school).
• Five (19% of 26) of the LPS schools (Lenski ES, Littleton Academy ES, Wilder ES, Littleton Academy MS, and Arapahoe HS) were in the top 10% of their school groups.
• The LPS group leaders did especially well compared to the other Colorado schools:
  • Lenski ES was 19th highest elementary school (top 1.8%).
  • Littleton Academy charter school was 7th highest middle school (top 1.5%).
  • Arapahoe HS was 27th highest high school (top 7.5%).

On December 9, 2008 CDE also released the School Accountability Reports for each Colorado school.  The three-page December 9 LPS news release [PDF 489KB] has this lead-in statement: All LPS schools again rated "excellent," "high," or "average" on 2007-2008 School Accountability Reports.  That news release includes the Overall Academic Performance ratings, Academic Growth of Students ratings, and other information about LPS student performance.

SAR growth ratings for 2007 use a two-page defined methodology [DOC 29KB] for calculating the Academic Growth of Students and assigning the ratings (Significant Improvement, Improvement, Stable, Decline, and Significant Decline).  SAR growth ratings for 2008 use a five-page defined methodology [DOC 57KB] for calculating the Academic Growth of Students and assigning the ratings (High, Typical, and Low). 

Last modified: 12/14/2008

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