Wednesday Churn: TCAP time

What’s churning:

First results of Colorado’s new state tests, the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program or TCAP, are released at noon today with the posting of third-grade reading scores.

Students across the state took the new exams, shifting away from the familiar Colorado Student Assessment Program or CSAPs, this spring as the state begins the implementation and assessment of knowledge of new academic standards.

The new tests are designed to transition the state’s classrooms from the old set of academic standards to the new, with the TCAPs measuring standards common between the two sets. That means this year’s TCAP test results are comparable to prior years’ CSAP results for accountability purposes.

Results are embargoed until noon, when EdNews will publish our database allowing you to search for your school and district results. State Board of Education members are scheduled to receive their official briefing at 2:30 p.m.

A study released Tuesday by the state community college system has found the system’s 13 colleges contribute $3 billion a year to the state’s economy and the economies of college towns.

According to a news release, “This number represents the higher earnings that students earn, as a result of the education they receive from a community college and the increased output of businesses because of the highly trained workforce from the Colorado Community College System.”

The report also estimates the added earnings community college graduates will experience because of their degrees or certificates, calculating an 11 percent rate of return on the dollars spent on education.

The study was done by the consulting firm of Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. Get more information here.

What’s on tap:

It’s the final day of the 2012 regular legislative session.

The State Board of Education meets at 9 a.m. in the boardroom at 201 E. Colfax Ave. Among agenda items are release of the 2012 third grade TCAP reading scores. Agenda

The St. Vrain Valley board is scheduled to meet at 7:00 p.m. at the Educational Services Center, 395 South Pratt Parkway in Longmont.

A good read from elsewhere:

Stein to Roaring Fork: Rob Stein, former principal of Manual High School and headmaster of Graland County Day School, has been named superintendent of the Roaring Fork district in Glenwood Springs. See this story from the Post-Independent.

The EdNews’ Churn is a daily roundup of briefs, notes and meetings in the world of Colorado education. To submit an item for consideration in this listing, please email us at EdNews@EdNewsColorado.org.