Craig Daily Press / ‘Another piece of accountability’

New state program designed to chart students’ long-term growth

July 5, 2008

The Moffat County School District is staying below state averages in several red-flag indicators, Assistant Superintendent Christine Villard said.

However, she added, the situation could change if teacher recruitment and retention remains a challenge for the school district.

Currently, the school districts’ student poverty and dropout rates are lower than the state’s, Villard said.

However, she added, those averages could increase if finding and keeping high-quality teachers remains difficult.

Teacher retention and recruitment is difficult in rural areas, Villard said.

Her words echoed those of her predecessor.

Villard took over the district’s No. 2 position Tuesday after former Assistant Superintendent Joel Sheridan retired from the position Monday.

The number of teachers entering the school district annually isn’t enough to offset the usual 10 percent teacher turnover rate, Sheridan said previously.

Craig — A new level of school accountability could change how parents look at their child’s standardized test scores this year.

In March, the Colorado Department of Education took the first steps toward implementing Colorado’s Growth Model. The plan is a new measure of tracking students’ academic performance, a factor that is measured in part by annual Colorado Student Assessment Program tests.

The Growth Model is designed to evaluate individual students’ academic progress throughout time, according to a news release from the CDE.

The program’s ultimate goal is to close achievement gaps between students of different races and income brackets, the CDE reported.

“It’s another piece of accountability,” said Christine Villard, Moffat County School District assistant superintendent.

Creation of the Growth Model is one of several changes brought about by the CDE’s Forward Thinking Initiative, or “the department’s blueprint for transforming its role in public education,” according to the CDE.

By implementing the program, the state would measure a school’s progress by the test scores of student groups and an individual student’s growth throughout time.

The CDE views using group and individual scores as a more accurate means of charting a school’s development.

“Colorado’s Growth Model recognizes that the most effective schools and districts are those that produce the highest sustained rates of growth in student achievement, which may or may not be districts and schools with the highest test scores each year,” the CDE reported.

Villard agreed.

The Growth Model is “drilling down to individual student performance levels,” she said, adding that the program gives School Districts “better individual data on individual students.”

The Growth Model delineates between “typical growth,” or how much a student’s performance can be expected to grow over one year’s time, and “adequate growth,” according to the CDE.

The latter measure determines how much students’ academic performance must increase before they can reach proficient and advanced levels within three years’ time.

In August, the state is scheduled to release the first round of information from the Growth Model, which contains students’ past CSAP scores.

Parents also could have online access to their children’s report through the CDE’s Web site this August, Villard said.

The new program is “kind of scary,” Villard said.

“But, on the other hand, we always look at individual growth at the district level,” she said.

“I think teachers will continue to do as they have always done — teach to individual needs.”