Adams 12 “Five Star” Schools is bracing for far lower than expected CSAP results because roughly a tenth of the district’s tests were administered incorrectly and were assessed scores of zero.
An estimated 6,000 tests in math, reading, writing and science taken by students at Colorado Virtual Academy were zeroed out and will drag down the district averages.
The district administered 76,895 Colorado Student Assessment Program tests in 2009. This year’s totals are not yet available.
According to the Colorado Department of Education and news reports in the spring, the online charter school gave the CSAP exams to students in different grade levels in the same room. That is a violation of the state’s rules for administering the annual assessment.
Colorado Virtual Academy — the largest online school in the state, with more than 5,000 students — informed the state and the district of the violation in the spring.
With scores to be released to the public at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Adams 12 officials are bracing for the blowback over the lower district averages.
“It significantly impacted our overall scores,” said Ja nelle Albertson, spokeswoman for the district, who could not reveal the extent of the damage.
School districts already have received their scores but are under a strict embargo imposed by the state not to reveal them.
Adams 12 — with schools in Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn and Broomfield — is the chartering authority for Colorado Virtual Academy.
The district typically is among the highest-scoring in metro Denver.
About 68 percent of Adams 12’s students were proficient or advanced in reading in 2009, comparable with the state average of 68 percent. And 55 percent were proficient or advanced in math, roughly the same as the state.
Among Colorado Virtual Academy students in 2009, 63 percent were proficient or better in reading, and 39 percent were proficient or better in math.
Officials from Colorado Virtual Academy did not return phone calls for comment Wed nesday.
Some online schools are able to test students of varying grade levels in the same room, but each grade level must have its own proctor, said Sherida Peterson, academic officer for Hope Online, the state’s second-largest online school.
“We got permission to proctor each grade level,” she said. “We also put up physical barriers between the students.”
Peterson said no school would intentionally make this error, calling it “a nightmare.”
State officials said Wednesday that Adams 12’s zeroed-out scores should not affect the state’s overall performance. In 2009, about 1.6 million tests were administered.
“Anyone can deduce that it would have an impact on Adams 12’s scores,” said state Department of Education spokesman Mark Stevens. “I guess if you ramp it up over the state, the impact will be not much.”
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
