The Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) has been underway since 1997. Since then, fourth grade students have been assessed annually on the Colorado Model Content Standards for Reading and Writing. In 1998, testing began on third grade reading. Over the course of time, other grades and subject areas will be phased in. In the spring of 2000,…

A student-initiated nature center project began six years ago when the original participants were in fifth grade. The students did the research, planning, construction, grant writing, and accounting and tied it all to Colorado state standards. Student engagement and self-confidence grew from a sense of responsibility and from knowing that the…

Information is provided on the content standards and work to achieve them for mathematics in one Colorado school district and reading and writing in another. The six mathematics content standards of the Weld County school district are outlined for kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12), and performance standards are also described and illustrated…

This standards review is the second in a series of annual reviews of the Colorado Model Content Standards. Its purpose is to identify student performance over time on measures of existing science standards, identify ways to affirm and strengthen standards and more clearly articulate the practices used by Colorado schools to promote student…

A research project was undertaken to analyze the effect of increased science and math high school graduation requirements and to develop models to minimize the impact of these increases on vocational course enrollments. Data from survey instruments sent to Colorado's 174 school districts, state directors of vocational education, and state…

The state of Colorado has set high standards for students based on three fundamental principles: safety, civility, and literacy. How these standards were integrated into the schools is the subject of this report. It opens with an overview of the foundations of academic success and the process involved in implementing standards-based education. The…

Part of a series on contemporary school reform and special education, this report discusses how states are building capacity for standards-based reform. An introduction describes seven key areas in which states must build classroom and organizational level capacities, including: (1) teachers' knowledge, skills, and dispositions; (2) students'…

This handbook, intended for K-12 teachers in Colorado, is a tool to help educators weave academic content standards, assessments, and career development methods into an integrated and comprehensive educational strategy that prepares all students to meet their future goals. The examples contained in the handbook were created to provide a vision of…

The Colorado Education Goals Panel, appointed by Governor Roy Romer in 1995 to meet the challenge of raising student achievement levels, is a 40-member planning group co-chaired by the Governor and Commissioner Bill Randall. The group includes parents, educators, business and civic leaders, policymakers, and administrators from higher education.…

Within the educational reform debate, there is general agreement that the development of high academic standards is an important first step toward improving academic outcomes. This report highlights the standards initiatives being implemented in Colorado, Delaware, Minnesota, and South Carolina. All four states have made substantial progress in…

Membership in the worldwide community means that students must possess globally competitive skills. In 1993, the author and the Colorado General Assembly worked to pass a comprehensive educational reform strategy that established "model" content standards in mathematics, science, geography, history, reading, and writing. Uniform…

The Statewide Extended Campus is a system encompassing programs of all of Colorado's four-year state educational institutions and represents one of the primary vehicles through which the public service role of each college and university is carried out. This policy and procedure document represents Section IV of the compendium of Colorado's…

This report, the fifth of a series of annual reports on the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP), presents a review of students' performances in spring 2001 in Grade 3 Reading Comprehension (English and Spanish); Grade 4 Reading and Writing (English and Spanish); Grade 5 Reading and Mathematics; Grade 6 Reading; Grade 7 Reading and Writing;…

A study examined the effect that increased high school graduation requirements are having on Colorado vocational enrollments and explored products and models for educators in school districts to use in minimizing any such adverse effects on enrollment. The study entailed a literature review, a survey of state high school science and mathematics…

The phenomenon of minimum competency testing (MCT) is explored, beginning with its origins in public concern for educational accountability. Three major themes appearing in the states enacting prescriptive legislation are described: state standards/state test (Florida); state standards/local test (Oregon); and local standards/local test…