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Slashing continual absenteeism charges, boosting third grade studying scores, and guaranteeing highschool graduates earn school credit score or work expertise alongside their diplomas are among the many Colorado Division of Schooling’s new strategic objectives.
The division has set 5 “wildly essential objectives” it goals to realize over the subsequent a number of years. Different state businesses, together with the Colorado Division of Early Childhood Schooling, are setting comparable objectives. Collectively, they characterize a number of the state’s largest public coverage priorities.
Schooling Commissioner Susana Córdova mentioned her division’s objectives are supposed to deal with a number of the 880,000-student system’s thorniest challenges.
“Faculties proceed to face pandemic-related challenges together with poor attendance, instructor shortages, and studying loss,” she instructed the Colorado State Board of Schooling final month.
Right here’s a have a look at three of the division’s objectives and the state’s progress towards assembly them.
Scale back continual absenteeism
Objective: Lower continual absenteeism to fifteen% of Okay-12 college students by the 2027-28 college yr.
Progress: Within the 2023-24 college yr, 27.7% of scholars had been chronically absent.
A scholar is taken into account chronically absent in the event that they miss 10% or extra of the college days in a faculty yr, or roughly 18 days. Persistent absenteeism is an issue as a result of college students who miss plenty of college can fall behind academically and discover it laborious to catch up.
“In the event that they’re not there, I don’t care how nice your instruction is, how nice your constructing is, what number of packages you will have,” State Board of Schooling member Lisa Escárcega mentioned at a gathering this week whereas discussing the objectives. “In the event that they’re not there, they will’t be taught.”
Persistent absenteeism has all the time been a difficulty, however it was made worse by the pandemic. Faculties throughout the nation have struggled to enhance scholar attendance within the years since. Whereas some are seeing success, absenteeism charges largely stay increased than they had been earlier than COVID.
That’s true in Colorado. The state’s continual absenteeism fee hit a excessive of 35.5% within the 2021-22 college yr. It was an enormous bounce from earlier than the pandemic, when the speed ranged from 18% to 24%.
Colorado is one among a number of states which have signed on to an bold pledge to chop continual absenteeism by half over a five-year interval. The division’s aim of a 15% continual absenteeism fee can be a giant enchancment on the pre-pandemic fee.
The division has already launched a statewide marketing campaign known as “Each Faculty Day Issues!” In keeping with the web site, greater than 30 districts and faculties have signed on. The division hopes 80% of Colorado’s 178 districts will conform to take part by subsequent October.
The division additionally goals to extend coaching for educators and develop the variety of guests to an internet site with steerage and assets for varsity employees on methods to foster a way of scholar well-being and belonging of their faculties — a component that college students say is essential.
Improve third grade studying scores
Objective: 60% of third graders will meet or exceed state expectations in literacy by 2028.
Progress: In 2024, 42% of third graders met that bar on the state literacy take a look at.
Third grade is taken into account a key yr for studying. Some research have proven that college students who can’t learn proficiently by third grade are much less prone to graduate from highschool.
Colorado exams college students in grades 3-11 in studying, writing, and math every spring. The exams for third graders are known as Colorado Measures of Educational Success, or CMAS.
Scholar take a look at scores plummeted through the pandemic and are actually climbing again up. Colorado’s third grade studying scores had been truly barely increased in 2024 than they had been in 2019 earlier than the pandemic. However state officers say the state nonetheless has work to do.
State Board of Schooling members emphasised the significance of serving to college students early.
“I’ve heard academics say, ‘Don’t fear about your child. They’ll get it afterward. It’ll come to them,’” mentioned board member Angelika Schroeder. “Of us, it doesn’t come to plenty of youngsters.”
Colorado has by no means come near 60% of third graders assembly or exceeding expectations in literacy because it rolled out the CMAS exams in 2015. Córdova known as this aim “very bold.”
To get there, the division plans to supply extra coaching to educators and guarantee extra college districts are utilizing what it calls “top quality tutorial supplies.”
The division additionally plans to revamp its awards to “have a good time faculties with sturdy outcomes.”
Enhance postsecondary readiness
Objective: 100% of the Class of 2029 can have earned 12 school credit, a non-degree credential, or participated in a work-based studying alternative.
Progress: The state doesn’t presently monitor this metric on this method.
Colorado has for a number of years been targeted on an idea known as the “massive blur,” which refers to blurring the road between highschool and college students’ subsequent steps. At its easiest, it’s an try to higher put together highschool graduates for faculty or the workforce.
Twin enrollment packages, which permit college students to take college-level lessons in highschool, have grow to be wildly common. Twin-enrolled highschool college students now account for almost half of the scholars at Colorado’s neighborhood schools.
However most dual-enrolled college students go away highschool with just a few school credit. The division needs to drastically improve that quantity.
Officers additionally need to improve the variety of college students incomes non-degree credentials that will enable them to work in high-demand fields, reminiscent of well being care or early childhood schooling.
They usually need to increase the variety of college students taking part in apprenticeships, on-the-job coaching, internships, and different work-based studying experiences.
Colorado has a number of packages meant to perform these objectives. However the system is fragmented and complicated, with totally different packages overseen by totally different departments. The packages even have differing quantities of funding from the state and buy-in from college districts.
A brand new report commissioned by state lawmakers consists of suggestions for enhancements, a few of which can be taken up by policymakers within the upcoming legislative session.
The division additionally needs to extend the variety of college districts taking part in coaching periods about postsecondary workforce readiness and the quantity which are together with postsecondary workforce readiness methods of their required enchancment plans.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.