CSAP TESTS FACING REVIEW

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Sep 14, 2007 | by SHARI CHANEY GRIFFIN

Changes could be coming to the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests most Colorado students take each year.

The Colorado Department of Education released a plan Thursday outlining how it will help local school districts improve student performance and narrow achievement gaps.

One of the items in the plan is a review of state standards, or what students should know in each subject and at each grade level, followed by a review of the CSAP tests.

"We do believe that after 13 years it's time for us to take a look at what students need to know and be able to do," said Commissioner Dwight Jones at an afternoon news conference.

State standards were put in place in 1994.

Jones said he predicts there will be changes in standards and testing.

What won't change, he said, is holding educators accountable for having students reading, writing and doing math and science at grade level.

Jones estimates it will take about a year for an independent firm to evaluate the standards, then a CSAP re- view could start.

There are plenty of other pieces to the plan, as well, and not all of the initiatives have every detail mapped out.

Officials said that's intentional.

The state department doesn't have all the answers, Jones said, and officials want to get information "from the field" -- school staffs, board members and administrators in districts throughout the state.

Mark Hatchell, superintendent in Academy School District 20, said he's excited to work with the state department as a partner, rather than an entity that only monitors school districts for compliance with state and federal laws.

While the Department of Education has a regulatory role, Jones said, it can also serve and support districts.

Districts have full authority, Jones said, but "we believe, as the Department of Education, we can also play a key role."

Creating a partnership with the Department of Education means having the ability to "work together to be a force for students," Hatchell said.

The plan also discusses creating partnerships with businesses and nonprofit groups to promote promising teaching and learning efforts with:

an award to honor school districts undertaking successful, systemic school reform.

a retreat for school leaders to share innovative ideas.

scholarships for 100 top high school seniors who enroll in Colorado colleges and universities and agree to teach in hard-to- staff teaching positions when they graduate.

a foundation to support innovative ideas and prepare students for what they will need to know in the future.

Districts have already seen some changes from the Department of Education, Jones said.

State officials helped districts, especially smaller, rural districts, review test scores and see how individual students progressed year to year.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0394 or shari.griffin@gazette.com