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The good news is that Colorado elementary and middle school students are now performing at or above their pre-pandemic achievement levels in most grades and subjects — with math gains a particular bright spot.
The bad news is that some groups of students, most notably English learners, are still achieving far below grade level.
These are some of the findings state education officials shared Thursday as they released results from last spring’s state tests, called the Colorado Measures of Academic Progress or CMAS, taken by students in grades 3 through 8. The release includes district and school level results, along with results for special populations, including English learners, students with disabilities, and students eligible from free or reduced-price meals, an indicator of poverty.
In some grades, only a tiny fraction of Colorado’s English learners — about 80% of whom speak Spanish as their first language — met or exceeded expectations in math or literacy.
For example, on math and English language arts tests, less than 3% of sixth grade English learners were proficient. Spanish-speaking students who were tested in Spanish didn’t fare much better: Only 16.5% of third graders and 13.1% of fourth graders met or exceeded expectations on the Spanish language arts test.
In several grades, English learners who took state tests last spring not only have proficiency rates well below their pre-pandemic counterparts, but their rates have slipped even lower than their 2024 peers.
Susana Córdova, Colorado’s education commissioner, said during a media briefing Tuesday that English learners have had a slower post-COVID recovery for various reasons, including because many attended schools that returned to in-person learning more slowly.
She noted that many English learners have enrolled in Colorado schools relatively recently and “are furthest from having proficiency in English.”
During the 2023-24 school year, thousands of migrant students arrived from South America.
Córdova said education department officials have also heard anecdotally about attendance problems among English learners, and that attendance data set to come out in a few weeks could shed more light on that issue.
Colorado also administers standardized science tests to students in grades 5, 8, and 11. Students did better on the science tests this year compared to their counterparts in 2024.
Eighth graders made the biggest improvements, with about 36% meeting or exceeding expectations compared with about 32% the year before. A new state science test based on revised science standards was unveiled in 2023.
“This really speaks to the really good work that Colorado educators are doing, wrapping their heads around these science standards, and really teaching with fidelity,” said Christina Wirth-Hawkins, chief assessment officer for the Colorado Department of Education.
Many school districts saw test score gains
Statewide, the aggregate scores for all students in grades 3 through 8 show that 44.8% of students met or exceeded expectations on the CMAS literacy tests and 35.9% did so on the math tests. Both of those percentages are higher than in 2024.
Many Colorado school districts also saw their test scores tick up. For instance, 99 of the state’s 178 districts had the same or higher percentages of students meeting expectations on CMAS literacy tests this year than last year, with 69 districts seeing a decrease. Some districts did not have enough data for the state to publicly report aggregate scores across grade levels.
In math, 107 districts had the same or higher percentages of students meeting expectations, while 57 districts had lower percentages. Again, some districts didn’t have enough data.
About 42% of students in Denver Public Schools met or exceeded expectations on the CMAS literacy tests this past spring. That’s an increase from last year and nearly as high as the 42.8% of students who met expectations in 2019, before the pandemic.
In math, about 33% of Denver students met or exceeded expectations on CMAS this year, bringing the district’s math scores to just above pre-pandemic levels.
Jeffco Public Schools also surpassed its pre-pandemic scores, with 52.5% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in literacy this year and 42.8% doing so in math.
Aurora Public Schools, Adams 12 Five Star, Adams 14, Mapleton Public Schools, and the Brighton-based 27J district saw improvements in both literacy and math this year, but their scores remain below pre-pandemic levels.
Cherry Creek School District saw an improvement in math, bringing the district’s math scores nearly to what they were before the pandemic. But Cherry Creek’s literacy scores were essentially flat and still below pre-pandemic levels.
Some districts, including Harrison 2 in Colorado Springs, saw decreases in both subjects.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
