Facts about CSAP: What do you think?

As the state tries to get you to take CSAP tests very seriously, education officials recently released

these stats about a test both loved and loathed. (Actually, does anyone love it?) What do you think about CSAP tests? And what impact do they have on your children? Make a comment in the box on your right. And keep in mind, CSAP is going away in the next few years – only to be replaced by a new test to assess students’ knowledge of state standards in reading, writing, math and science.

  • Last year, the participation rate among Colorado students was 99 percent.
  • In all, 1.6 million tests were administered.
  • Taking CSAP is the law. Under Colorado law, every student enrolled in a public school is required to take CSAP or CSAP-A (the assessment for some students with significant cognitive disabilities).
  • Taking the CSAP means students in grades three through 10 spend a total of about nine to 12 hours in CSAP testing each year.
  • In all, CSAP consumes less than 1 percent of the total instructional time in the academic year.
  • CSAP was developed to measure student progress toward Colorado’s model content standards.
  • CSAP results allow parents to see where children are academically, where they need to develop and how much growth will help them reach or remain at a level of proficiency.
  • CSAP results provide teachers and school administrators with valuable feedback on how well their curriculum and instruction is working, especially when it comes to students that might require additional support.
  • CSAP results provide district and school administrators with valuable information to create improvement plans that put resources exactly where they are needed to help their students.
  • CSAP results allow state policymakers to learn where the system is producing the required results and where it is not, so that additional resources and accountability can be in place where needed.
  • CSAP results are captured in the online portal SchoolView (www.schoolview.org) providing the public the opportunity to view school performance and engage in conversations that lead to better academic outcomes for Colorado’s children.
  • CSAP results are not used for classroom grades.
  • Students are not held back grades or kept out of college because of CSAP results.
  • CSAP has proven itself to be a reliable predictor of college and career readiness. When analyzed, results give educators a good idea of each student’s need for both postsecondary remediation and probable scores on college-entrance exams.
  • CSAP will be replaced by a new, updated assessment system based on the new academic standards in the next few years.
  • Colorado receives approximately $500 million through the federal Title I program every year. In exchange, the federal government requires Colorado to assess all students in the CSAP content areas and report this performance.

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