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This report examines whether a statistical method called Empirical Best Linear Prediction (EBLP) can reduce the year-to-year volatility of Colorado school test score metrics used for school accountability. Using three years of Colorado state test score data, the results demonstrate that EBLP produces more accurate and more stable results than standard single-year measures, with the largest improvements for the smallest schools. However, the use of EBLP measures in place of single-year measures did not increase stability of School Performance Framework Growth Ratings. The report discusses potential explanations for these findings and considerations relevant to the use of statistical stabilization methods such as EBLP when using school test score metrics for accountability.

To address disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) launched the Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Grant Program using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) state reserve funds. Between 2022 to 2024, CDE awarded 66 ELO grants to support out-of-school programs aimed at accelerating student learning and increasing student engagement. This report uses quantitative methods to describe ELO program focus areas, participating student populations, and subsequent student achievement and attendance outcomes.

This report examines how changing Colorado’s minimum student count thresholds ("minimum n-size") could affect the availability and reliability of aggregate school and district achievement and growth measures. Using statewide test score data from 2017-2019 and a hierarchical linear modeling framework, the report documents that lowering the minimum student count thresholds modestly increases reporting for overall school results but can substantially increase reporting for disaggregated student groups, often with lower reliability. The analyses demonstrate how reliability of these aggregate test score measures increases with sample size, is higher for achievement than growth, and for schools compared to districts. The findings underscore tradeoffs between transparency and statistical stability, providing guidance for policymakers setting minimum n-size requirements.

This literature review investigates the evolving role of school districts in the context of school turnaround efforts, focusing on post-2015 developments under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Traditionally, school turnaround policies emphasized isolated school-level actions, but recent perspectives advocate for a system-wide approach involving districts as pivotal facilitators of reform. The review underscores the importance of leadership, clear vision, capacity building, and collaborative frameworks for successful turnaround efforts.

This study analyzes the redesignation patterns of a cohort of Multilingual Learner (ML) students in Colorado from 3rd to 8th grade (from 2018 to 2023), focusing on how redesignation varies across demographic groups. Redesignation as fluent English proficient (FEP) is a two-step process in Colorado: students must first earn a minimum score on the ACCESS exam and then produce a standardized body of evidence (BOE) demonstrating readiness to transition to mainstream English classrooms, with BOE criteria defined locally by districts and schools.

In this report, we review a widely used method for calculating effective weights and apply it to evaluate the alignment of nominal and effective weights for composite accountability scores produced in the Colorado School Performance Framework (SPF).

In this qualitative study, we conducted a series of think-aloud interviews with in-service elementary reading teachers as they reacted to a prototype for reporting content-referenced growth (CRG) within a commercially available diagnostic assessment, Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Diagnostic.

This study aims to analyze in-service elementary teachers’ reactions to a prototype for reporting content referenced growth on a widely used commercial assessment, Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Diagnostic. Created through a partnership between CU �鶹ӰԺ and Curriculum Associates, the score reporting prototype is intended to support teachers, parents, and students in interpreting both the status of student understanding at one point in time and their growth in understanding across points in time.

A number of foundational skills contribute to students’ growth toward skilled reading, including phonics knowledge. In this report, we examine how phonics knowledge develops from kindergarten through third grade by considering a theory of reading development known as orthographic mapping and by examining how the difficulties of i-Ready Diagnostic phonics items change from grade to grade.

This report provide a descriptive look at patterns of “summer learning loss” (SLL) in reading and mathematics for elementary and middle school students who use the i-Ready Diagnostic assessment system produced by Curriculum Associates. SLL in math amounts toabout 30 to 40% of school year growth depending on the grade in question. The score decreases are smaller in reading, ranging from about 10 to 20% of school year growth.