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Across the Street: Stay with me here

Joyce Rankin/For Craig Press
Joyce Rankin
Courtesy Photo

Have you wondered how students in Colorado compare academically to students in other states? There is a nationally recognized test given every other year to fourth- and eighth-graders that has been around since 1969. It offers snapshot of how our students are achieving in school. The test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, report, is known as the Nation’s Report Card. It uses a carefully designed sampling procedure that allows the assessment to be representative of the geographical, racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the schools and students in the United States. The recently released 2017 scores show the United States, as a whole, hasn’t improved significantly over time.

NAEP is the most extensive continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s students know and can do in subjects such as mathematics, reading, science and writing. It’s not used to isolate school district or individual student achievement, but rather to compare state-to-state achievement. Colorado test scores have remained relatively stagnant, however an interesting statistic emerged with the recent NAEP test results for Colorado eighth-graders.

Luke Ragland, president of ReadyCO, an organization working to improve education in Colorado, believes parents should be able to send their children to a public school of their choice. Public Charter Schools are a popular choice for many parents and are part of the public school system. While few options are available in rural Colorado, there are some, including 32 charter schools operating in the area I represent, the 3rd Congressional District. Colorado Charter Schools serve a higher percentage of students of color and English Language Learners than Colorado’s traditional public schools and receive less funding, on average, than Colorado’s traditional public schools.

Ragland studied the recent NAEP scores of eighth-graders in Colorado Charter Schools. He then compared these Charter School scores to test scores of eighth-grade students in public schools throughout the U.S. The results showed Colorado’s Public Charter Schools outperform public schools across the nation in both eighth-grade math and eighth-grade reading.

Colorado Charter Schools outperformed all public schools in the nation, but all of Colorado eighth graders also deserve a “High Five.”

If we look at all Colorado’s eighth-graders, including charter-school students, they come in at 17th place out of 50 states in math and eighth place in reading. National averages are 24th and 25th, respectively.

Congratulations to all eighth-grade students, teachers and parents!

Joyce Rankin sits on the State Board of Education representing Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. She writes the monthly column, “Across the Street” to share with constituents in the 29 counties she represents. The Department of Education, where the State Board of Education meets, is located across the street from the Capitol. She is also a legislative assistant for State Rep. Bob Rankin.


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