Gov. Bill Ritter signed Tuesday what many are calling the most meaningful education legislation of the year – a system to better track students’ academic progress on state tests.
The new law, only the second Ritter has signed, sets up a system to measure individual yearly progress, a more sophisticated way to track achievement than the current snapshot of a school’s scores on the Colorado Student Assessment Program, or CSAP, tests.
Ritter said House Bill 1048 is the “first essential step” toward his goal of cutting the drop-out rate in half within 10 years.
The new system will show teachers and parents how much a child improves on state CSAP test each year, giving a comprehensive view of a school’s ability to help kids progress. The current method lets them see only how one third-grade class performed on the CSAP compared with the next year’s third- graders, for example.
“It’s just about progress,” Ritter said. “Teachers will finally be able to make informed decisions based on relevant data.”
Rep. Michael Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs, said parents will be able to ask, “Is my child making real progress in a year? Do we need to work harder?”
Implementing the legislation is not expected to cost the state any additional money.
The law requires the Colorado Department of Education to ask the federal government for flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act. The designation will allow the state to use its own method to measure yearly progress.
About 10 lawmakers, including a few Republicans, stood behind Ritter as he signed the bill, which moved easily through the legislature with bipartisan support.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
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In other action
The House passed legislation that would make it easier for school districts to raise taxes to pay for full-day kindergarten programs. SB 26 passed 53-12 and is headed to Gov. Bill Ritter’s desk.
The House also passed a bill that would update state law to discourage people capable of purchasing health care privately from transferring assets to appear eligible for Medicaid benefits. HB 1039, sponsored by Rep. Spencer Swalm, R-Centennial, is intended to help middle-class Coloradans who struggle to pay for high health care costs but are ineligible for assistance through Medicaid.
