3rd-graders’ reading scores decline slightly in Colorado
The reading scores of Colorado’s third-graders showed a slight decline but remained mostly flat for another year, according to data released Thursday by the Colorado Department of Education.
On the Colorado Student Assessment Program test, 65 percent of third-graders were “proficient.” Another 7 percent were rated “advanced,” while 9 percent were “unsatisfactory.” Of the 53,805 third-graders who took the CSAP, 18 percent were “partially proficient.”
The state’s 178 school districts began receiving third-grade reading results Thursday. The scores for the other reading, writing, science and math tests will be released in July.
Meanwhile, math and writing CSAP tests from 24 third-graders at Bromwell Elementary in Denver will be thrown out after an investigation found a teacher administered them improperly, officials said Thursday.
Teacher Meredith Leighty, who has been with Denver Public Schools since 1998, returned to school last Friday after a two-week paid administrative leave while district officials investigated.
DPS spokesman Mark Stevens said the district never drew any conclusions as to “whether the irregularity was intentional or not.”
The invalidation of the tests likely will affect Bromwell’s “excellent” ranking by the Colorado Department of Education, he said.
Former ed official gets probation in theft case
Former state board of education member Christine Baca received two years of probation Thursday in connection with the theft of $44,000 from her former employer, the Bank of Denver.
She has already repaid more than $8,000 and was ordered by Denver District Judge Robert McGahey Jr. on Thursday to pay $33,000 in restitution. Under the terms of a plea bargain in March, Baca pleaded guilty to one count of computer crime. In return, prosecutors dropped another count of computer crime and a count of theft.
Joe Morales, who heads the Denver district attorney’s economic crime unit, said there was not much more that could have been done to punish Baca. “She took a lifelong success story and she threw it all away,” Morales said.
McGahey said he appreciated Baca taking responsibility for her crime. The expected prison term for computer crime is two to six years.
CU psychologists to study GIs’ training
The Department of Defense has awarded a team of University of Colorado psychologists $5 million for a five-year study to optimize soldiers’ training, the university said Thursday. Alice Healy and Lyle Bourne will head the project, which will test the effectiveness of various training methods on tasks as diverse as language translation and gunnery.
It’s unusual for the department’s Army Research Office to spend research money on behavioral science, Bourne wrote in a statement. The CU grant is one of just 26 given under the Army’s university initiative this year. Most grants went to engineering and technology projects. But soldiers undergo a tremendous amount of training, Bourne said, and it’s important to understand what works best in different situations.
Supermax inmate died of head injuries
An inmate who was beaten to death at the nation’s most secure prison had a fractured skull and a brain injury, the coroner said.
Manuel Torrez, 64, died April 21 after he was assaulted by one or more inmates in an exercise area at the “Supermax” federal prison near Florence, authorities said.
Fremont County Coroner Dorothy Twellman said this week Torrez was beaten about the head, neck and face. The FBI was investigating.
Torrez was serving a 13 1/2-year term for a racketeering conviction in California. He was the first prisoner to die a violent death at the ultrasecure prison about 90 miles south of Denver since it was built in 1995.
The prison houses some of the nation’s most notorious criminals, including 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef, Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols.
Governor pushes tax-reform efforts
Tax reform, nuclear waste and a possible visit by Mexico’s president to Utah were some of the topics Thursday at Gov. Jon Huntsman’s monthly televised news conference.
The Legislature moved slowly to assemble a task force on tax reform, but Huntsman said there’s still enough time for the panel to make recommendations for action at the next legislative session in January.
Among the task force’s recommendations are extending sales taxes to consumer and professional services.
