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Moffat County CSAP results released

Brian Smith

Joe Petrone, Moffat County School District superintendent, said he takes results of the Colorado Student Assessment Program seriously.

And, after receiving this year’s CSAP scores, Petrone said, “We have some work to do.”

“There are achievement levels that we will pause and celebrate, and then there are those that will create questions in the minds of the teachers that work with those young people,” he said.



Results of CSAP, which tests students in grades 3 through 10, were released Tuesday by the Colorado Department of Education.

According to a school district news release, third- through eighth-grade students performed below the state average in proficient and advanced levels in reading.



Ninth- and 10th-graders tested at or slightly above the state average in reading.

Seventh-grade students performed at or above the state average in proficient and advanced levels of math, while all other grade levels performed below the state average, according to the release.

In the third, fourth, eighth and ninth grades, there was an increase on the number of students performing in the advanced range, however.

Student performance in writing showed the most growth across the district, according to the school district. Writing levels improved in five out of seven grade levels from last year, with growth being “significant” in some of those grades.

According to the release, the district took measures to “concentrate staff development and student growth in writing areas.”

“These scores are definitely worth celebrating, as they reflect the efforts of teachers and students across (the) district (in) the last two years,” the district reported in the news release.

In science, fifth-grade students remained consistent with last year’s performance, while eighth-graders tested higher than last year, with more students performing in the advanced range, according to the release.

However, 10th-grade science scores declined from last year, and the number of students performing at the unsatisfactory level declined for a third year in a row. More students performed partially proficient or better than last year, as well.

According to the release, preliminary data shows the median growth of students in the district is in the “typical growth range,” and is averaging around the median growth percentile for the state.

“Growth scores have added a new dimension to help us understand the growth and development of our students,” Petrone said.

However, there is always room for more student growth, Petrone said.

“I think that the parents in our community … are looking for strong growth,” he said. “We will accept growth at a medium level, but we are always striving for high quality, beyond proficient, if we can.

“But, we are also realists, and we know that we have got work to do and we are sorting through the data and we will do our best to move students to the level they are capable of.”

According to the release, the district will look at the students demonstrating above average growth and “determine what we are doing that is supporting their learning.”

Two areas that need to be evaluated, according to the news release, are the increasing number of unsatisfactory students in some grade levels, and what the district is doing with students who are moving into the advanced category to “see how we can duplicate those efforts.”


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