Assessment and Evaluation

The following are yearly state required tests:

• WIDA, English Language Proficiency Assessments - assessment for students identified as a Multilingual Learner, grades K-12.
• Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) - assessments in Mathematics and English Language Arts (grades 3-8), Science (grades 5, 8 & 11) and Social Studies (grades 4 & 7). Note: Social Studies will be administered to select schools in 2024-2025.
• CoAlt: DLM for English Language Arts and Mathematics and Science and Social Studies  - alternative assessments for students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-11.
• PSAT 9 (grade 9), PSAT 10 (grade 10), or SAT (grade 11).

For more information about state testing, visit http://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment.

The following are the assessments required by the State of Colorado and administered by TSD, as well as their intended purposes:

• CMAS Mathematics and English Language Arts: Assessments are intended to assess the ability to communicate effectively, apply math to real-world situations, critically analyze literature and informational texts, and demonstrate problem-solving techniques.  (Grades 3-8)
• CMAS Science: Tests are intended to assess mastery of skills and concepts in physical science, life science, earth systems science, and scientific investigations & the nature of science.  (Grades 5, 8, 11)
• CMAS Social Studies: Tests are intended to assess mastery of skills and concepts in history, geography, economics, and civics. (Grades 4 & 7) 
• PSAT 8/9 and PSAT 10: Focus on concepts and skills for college and career readiness. They are designed to inform instruction and ultimately help improve student outcomes. The tests can help identify students who are falling behind, so teachers can intervene, and they can provide indicators of students’ readiness for advanced coursework and to keep them on target for college.  PSAT is taken in preparation for the 11th grade college entrance exam (SAT). (Grades 9 & 10)
  Please refer to CDE's PSAT/SAT Fact Sheet (English) for more information about the assessment listed above. CDE's PSAT/SAT Fact Sheet(Spanish).
• SAT: Focuses on concepts and skills for college and career readiness. They are designed to inform instruction and ultimately help improve student outcomes. The tests can help identify students who are falling behind, so teachers can intervene, and they can provide indicators of students’ readiness for advanced coursework and to keep them on target for college. (Grade 11). Please refer to CDE's PSAT/SAT Fact Sheet (English) for more information about the assessment listed above. CDE's PSAT/SAT Fact Sheet (Spanish).
• WIDA: English Language Proficiency Assessment, measures a student’s progress in acquiring academic English. This assessment is administered to all students identified as a Multilingual Learner and who are not yet fluent English speakers. (Grades K-12)

Assessment windows are listed on the Assessments of Learning page. Schools set their own specific administration schedules within these windows.

CMAS assessments are designed to be point-in-time snapshots of what students know and can do in core content areas.

• These assessments form a baseline for benchmarking student learning against state expectations, and assist teachers and administrators in knowing how individual students are progressing over time.  Scores on tests contribute to a body of evidence for identifying individualized support needed for each student.
• Results are used by schools/districts to inform program, school and district improvement.  Having scores for all students makes results more useful for understanding our challenging achievement gaps and monitoring system-wide progress.
• Results are also used in the federal and state accountability systems to rate schools and districts through Colorado’s School and District Performance Frameworks. Participation matters! Low participation may result in decreased ratings or the district’s accreditation status.
• The ratings issued by the state and the data collected are used by SchoolGrades.org, US News & World Report’s Best High Schools and other organizations to compare different schools in Colorado and across the country. It can impact the local and national reputation of our schools, especially with prospective parents who often utilize this information in choosing a school.
• Students now have an option to place college entrance examination test scores on their final transcripts.

Online practice tests are available to familiarize students with the testing environment and tools.  In addition to providing an opportunity to become acquainted with the kinds of questions that appear on new tests, the practice environment should help students use embedded tools such as text-to-speech.

Practice Tests

• CMAS Science & Social Studies, Math & English Language Arts, Spanish Language Arts
• SAT
• PSAT

As stated in state law and district policy, parents may excuse their students from taking CMAS and state college preparatory and college admissions examinations. Contact your principal if you are considering excusing your student from specific state tests so that you may make an informed decision with regard to the impact non-participation may have on your school and district.

If a school district doesn’t meet the 95 percent participation rate requirement in two or more content areas due to students opting out from the test, the district’s plan type will be lowered one level.

What is a plan type? These are the overall ratings of a school or district. There are five ratings that a district can earn. From highest to lowest, they are: Accredited with Distinction, Accredited, Accredited with Improvement, Priority Improvement and Turnaround.

The following times are allotted for each assessment (students with an accommodation may be allowed more time)

Computer-based tests hold the potential for relatively swift delivery of student results, when compared to paper and pencil tests.

Colorado Department of Education privacy and security information is available at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/dataprivacyandsecurity.