Local students' CSAP scores mixed

Local students' CSAP scores mixed

School district officials wonder about stagnant achievement

by Garrett Andrews
Herald Staff Writer

Article Last Updated; Thursday, August 12, 2010  12:00AM

Scores from the Colorado Student Achievement Program show Durango-area students again outperformed state averages in every subject, but school district officials say work remains in overcoming a "performance plateau."

Student in grades three through 10 take the CSAP each spring to measure proficiency in four core subjects: reading, writing, math and science. The test, in its 13th year, is a federal requirement under the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind Act.

In Durango School District 9-R, only sixth-grade math scores lagged state averages this year. All others scores were above state averages.

Superintendent Keith Owen called the district's writing scores the "low point" in this year's data. Following a general trend across the state, 9-R writing scores were down from last year for all grades but eighth.

"We're still tying to figure out what happened and why we followed the state," he said.

In Bayfield, 79 percent of ninth-graders were proficient in reading, 42 percent were proficient in writing and 29 were proficient in math.

In Ignacio, 35 percent of ninth-graders were proficient in reading, 20 percent were proficient in writing and 15 percent were proficient in math.

At Durango High School, 77 percent of freshmen were proficient in reading, 62 percent of freshmen were proficient in writing and 47 percent of freshmen were proficient in math.

The scores at charter school Animas High School were the highest in the region.

Eighty-nine percent of freshmen were proficient in reading, 71 percent were proficient in writing and 59 percent were proficient in math.

In a media release, Animas High's Head of School Michael Ackerman attributed the high scores to the school's teaching methods and core values.

But Owen said self-selection might have provided Animas a high number of high-performing students.

Bayfield District Superintendent Dean Hill and Ignacio Superintendent Rocco Fuschetto were not available for comment.

District 9-R's Board of Education approved CSAP benchmarks last September.

Owen said he'll have a better idea of how the district fared when he sees district growth rates, which are determined by combining growth percentiles from individual students' several CSAP scores.

These growth rates are still being compiled by the Colorado Department of Education.

"For the most part, we're experiencing a CSAP achievement plateau," Owen said. "We're a high-performing district, but we're not seeing growth from one year to the next."

With classes resuming Aug. 23, Owen said he and his staff will be busy preparing this week and next.

Two elementary schools - Needham and Florida Mesa - will feature a new International Baccalaureate program, and online learning programs will debut across the district.

The International Baccalaureate program is an exam-based system put forth by a nonprofit organization.

Owen said teachers will go through two days of professional training next week to learn the district's new math and language-arts curricula, which he said were developed to bring the district's standards into closer alignment with those of the state.

Durango School District board member Julie Levy said she's "not disappointed" with the data.

"The question now is, do we expect more of our local schools?" she said. "What we're trying to do is go from a great school district to the best school district in the state."

Levy said raising scores while implementing other goals from the district's strategic plan at a time of financial uncertainty will prove a unique challenge in the upcoming school year.

The district intends to cut more than $2.7 million from the 2010-2011 budget, and is preparing to increase class sizes in grades three through 12.

District officials are hoping a November ballot measure will prevent deeper cuts.

A private donation of $50,000 is helping the district fund a campaign to pass the mill-levy override, which would fill a hole left by declining state funds.

District CFO Laine Gibson said if the tax increase doesn't pass, the district would have to cut an additional $1.75 million next year.

gandrews@durangoherald.com

Comments for this article have been closed