Assessment Information

CMAS

PSAT 9/10

SAT

WIDA

Early Literacy is a Colorado Priority

Every child should read by the third grade. This is an elemental building block to receiving a quality education. It is so important that the state legislature put it into Colorado law and the Colorado Department of Education made it one of the department’s five key initiatives.

The Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act (Colorado READ Act) was passed by the Colorado Legislature in 2012, giving the state the guiding philosophy, structure and resources to get children reading at grade level by the time they enter the fourth grade. In 2019, the legislature strengthened the READ Act, adding new emphasis on the importance of instruction that is scientifically proven to be effective in teaching all students to read at grade level.  

Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

Research shows students must make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn by the end of the third grade to be successful in later grades. Each year, as grade-level demands increase, students who struggle to read can fall further behind.

The Colorado READ Act works to ensure the mastery of  reading for third-grade students before they advance to fourth grade. The initiative focuses on early literacy programs, resources for both teachers and students, early screening, and individualized reading plans for at school and at home. As a last resort, the law allows retention to ensure that all students entering fourth grade are able to read to learn.

Key Facts about the Importance of Early Literacy

• Graduation, college and career preparedness are more likely possibilities for students who master reading skills by fourth grade.
• A student who misses the opportunity to learn to read proficiently before fourth grade almost never catches up.
• Reading to learn enables a student to comprehend facts in social studies and science, understand word problems in math and interpret increasingly complex concepts in language arts.
• According to the Annie. E. Casey Foundation, students who cannot read by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school, and high school drop outs make up 75 percent of citizens receiving food stamps and 90 percent of the Americans on welfare.

Learn More About the Colorado READ Act

Can parents excuse their children from taking the state tests?

Yes. State Law HB15‐1323 allows parents to excuse their child from state assessments. This law requires districts to have policies that explain how parents may excuse a student from participating in one or more state assessments and notify parents of those policies. Your district can share their specific policy with you.

What are the consequences of excusing your child from participating in the state tests? 

Per State Law HB15‐1323, districts cannot impose negative consequences on students or parents if a parent excuses his or her student from participating in an assessment, including prohibiting school attendance, imposing an unexcused absence, or prohibiting participation in extracurricular activities. Likewise, districts cannot impose unreasonable burdens or requirements on a student to discourage the student from taking an assessment or to encourage the student’s parent to excuse his/her child from the assessment.

It is important to note that non‐participation in state assessments means parents will not have information about their child’s attainment and growth on the state standards compared to other students in their school, district and state. Also, there is a chance that comparisons between schools and districts won’t be available as common state assessments are the most consistent way to compare performance right now.

Will my school or district's accreditation rating be impacted by low participation on tests? 

Federal law requires 95 percent of students overall, and in each demographic category, to take the required assessments. However, the Colorado State Board of Education passed a motion in February 2015 that says districts will not be held liable for parents choosing to excuse their children from testing.

As a result of these two policies, there is no impact on state accountability determinations for schools or districts that do not meet the federal requirement for 95 percent participation in two or more content areas due to parents excusing their students from testing. If, however, the school or district fails to meet the 95 percent participation rate requirement in two or more content areas for reasons such as students refusing to take the test without a parent excuse, then the school or district’s plan type will be lowered one level.

Are there financial impacts on teachers or schools for low participation? 

There is no fiscal impact on a district or teacher, at the state level, for parents excusing students from state assessments.