Ten schools were rated “distinguished” and 30 were given probationary marks under Denver’s new score-card system that ranks each school based on a broad array of measures.
The district’s School Performance Framework, or SPF, released Monday provides a deeper look at the schools operating in Denver last year. Of the 30 schools given probationary marks, seven have already closed.
The district also looked at its 11 alternative schools and put five of them on probation.
“This enables us to look at our programs and see where things are succeeding,” said Superintendent Michael Bennet. “This makes visible where things are really working and not working.”
Denver is the first district in the state and among the first in the country to develop its own assessment tool based on a variety of measures for each school.
The framework, which is different for regular and alternative schools, is a more comprehensive version of the state’s School Accountability Report, which is released annually and rates schools “excellent” to “unsatisfactory.”
Denver’s framework goes deeper. It provides a picture of its schools culled from a host of measurements, including data from the Colorado Student Assessment Program, enrollment figures, attendance, ACT scores, federal Adequate Yearly Progress reports and the state’s accountability reports.
The district will use the frame work to accredit the schools with the state.
About 60 percent of Denver’s framework package is based on how well students learn from year to year — tracking each student’s CSAP progress over two years.
The framework provides each school with one of four overall rankings: “distinguished,” “meets expectations,” “accredited on watch” or ” accredited on probation.”
Schools with positive ratings get more autonomy and freedom, and their principals and staffs are compensated for their success. The average principal will make $10,000 in bonuses.
Schools on watch or on probation get tutors, more staff members to make class sizes smaller, an intensive literacy program and other resources.
The district might use the information to replace the staff, change the program or even close the school.
Administrators are quick to point out that the framework’s purpose is to identify what is working and where there are problems.
“This puts you past the punishment discourse and pushes you more toward improvement,” said Brad Jupp, senior policy adviser.
District officials are particularly interested in how the data from the framework appear on a scatter graph, which looks at a school’s CSAP scores and how its students have grown academically.
Some schools with high CSAP scores might not be showing yearly growth. Students at other schools with low CSAP scores are growing every year.
Broken down by levels of poverty, the graph shows that some schools with low-income students are succeeding against the odds.
Lincoln Elementary School in the Washington Park neighborhood earned the district’s top ranking among all schools — scoring 97 of 106 possible framework points with a 92 percent success.
Steck Elementary also had a 92 percent success rate.
Lincoln principal Diane Smith said there is no single ingredient in her school’s success.
Younger students are taught basic skills, and older students are expected to use those skills in real-life “authentic work”— conducting research and problem solving, she said.
Since Lincoln has been receiving accolades for its academic growth, enrollment has improved, Smith said.
“This year, for the first time, we have had waiting lists for the kindergarten,” she said. “Suddenly, Lincoln is on everyone’s radar.”
Principal Don Roy of the Hill Campus of Arts and Sciences, a middle school in Denver’s Hilltop neighborhood that rated as meeting expectations, said the framework provides a more thorough picture of how students are learning rather than the static picture from the state’s accountability reports.
“It’s so much more meaningful,” Roy said. “You are learning how kids are growing over time.”
Even though the framework is more thorough and comprehensive, it’s still not the best way to examine a school.
“If you really want a full picture of a school,” Roy said, “you really have to walk through the school.”
To see the full rankings, go to .
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
