Low-income Colorado students hit hardest by CMAS tests during pandemic
COLORADO (KRDO) -- Participation levels and scores on Colorado's standardized tests for students dropped significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic -- it wasn't unexpected by the Colorado Department of Education, but the next steps aren't currently clear.
Across the board from third through eighth grade, participation in the Colorado Measures of Academic Success tests dropped by double-digit percentages.
Here's how that looks, according to the CDE:
| Grade - Required Test | 2021 Participation Rate | 2019 Participation Rate | Difference |
| Third - English language arts | 76.2% | 96.9% | -20.7 |
| Fourth - Math | 75.7% | 96.9% | -21.2 |
| Fifth - ELA | 74.4% | 96.2% | -21.8 |
| Sixth - Math | 68.6% | 94.9% | -26.3 |
| Seventh - ELA | 63.7% | 92.4% | -28.7 |
| Eighth - Math | 57.9% | 88.8% | -30.9 |
CDE says students were only required to take one test per grade level, but the other test was optional. The optional tests had "extremely low levels of participation," however, with CDE saying rates ranged from 7% to 10% across the board.
There wasn't as drastic of a drop in scores, but math tests saw the biggest drops compared to ELA. CDE Chief Assessment Officer Joyce Zurkowski said performance in math dropped to the "lowest it has ever been," and ELA dropped to 2017 levels.
Exact scores weren't given, but the CDE gave information on how many students met or exceeded expectations for their grade level. See the table below:
| Grade - Test | 2021 Met or Exceeded Expectations | 2019 Met or Exceeded Expectations | Difference |
| Third - ELA | 39.1% | 41.3% | -2.2 |
| Fourth - Math | 28.5% | 33.6% | -5.1 |
| Fifth - ELA | 47.2% | 48.4% | -1.2 |
| Sixth - Math | 24.1% | 29.5% | -5.4 |
| Seventh - ELA | 42.6% | 46.5% | -3.9 |
| Eighth - Math | 29.5% | 36.9% | -7.4 |
According to state statistics, female students performed better than male students in every grade level of ELA exams, but male students performed better than female students in every grade level of Mathematics exams.
The state also breaks down performance levels by ethnicity, with CDE saying Hispanic and Black students were more impacted across all grades than other students, though students of all races and ethnicities saw decreased performance.
Those statistics reflect another metric examined by the state: performance by economic level. According to the data provided by CDE, students who were eligible for free or reduced lunch were at a disadvantage in both subjects compared to students who weren't eligible for free or reduced lunch.
| Grade - Test | Students eligible for free/reduced lunch who met or exceeded expectations | Students ineligible for free/reduced lunch who met or exceeded expectations | Difference |
| Third - ELA (English speakers) | 20.4% | 50.5% | -30.1 |
| Fourth - Math | 11.3% | 38.9% | -27.6 |
| Fifth - ELA | 26.6% | 60.1% | -33.5 |
| Sixth - Math | 9.1% | 33.2% | -24.1 |
| Seventh - ELA | 23.0% | 54.1% | -31.1 |
| Eighth - Math | 11.6% | 39.6% | -28 |
So does that mean the students are behind for the upcoming school year?
"I wouldn't use the word 'behind,'" District 11 Director of Assessment Dr. Eric Mason told KRDO. "We think of data as developmental, not judgmental data -- it's what we use to better understand how we can educate our students."
Mason said he does anticipate that students will have some catching up to do, "especially for our younger students with economic disadvantage." He noted the drastically low test scores for mathematics among lower-income students.
"I think we are looking at a full-court press on math to make sure students are ready for high school and for college," Mason told KRDO.
Todd Seip with District 70 in Pueblo County said he thinks this may be a "short-term minor blip on the overall testing scale."
"We didn't have the same participation without students as we've had in years past, and you can't really control a lot of those extracurricular things that are happening," Seip told KRDO. "Are students testing from home, or testing one day in school and one day out of school? So we did expect some drops as well."
The state didn't provide a breakdown of scores or participation rates by each district with the main report on Thursday, but Mason said the issue wasn't limited to just one district.
"It was something that we saw nationwide," Mason said. "We've spoken to nationwide vendors of standardized assessment, and everybody was predicting including us with our district benchmarks there would be a drop off especially in math performance and language arts performance."
But as far as changing curriculum, that's up to each individual district. The Colorado Department of Education doesn't issue mandates for curriculum based on test scores. Still, Mason said D11 is preparing.
"We are talking with our curriculum and instruction department about the approaches they are going to take with our individual principles, and everybody is ready for this," Mason said.
You can read the full report released Thursday at this link.
