School Accountability Systems

State accreditation is the Colorado Department of Education’s (CDE) ongoing review of school districts and school performance. Schools must meet performance indicators for academic achievement for all students in all content areas (e.g., reading, writing, math, etc.), school safety, school and community partnerships, and financial accountability. Schools receive one of the following ratings:
• Accredited;
• Accredited; Accreditation Watch;
• Accredited; Accreditation Probation;
• Non-Accredited
The district also recognizes schools as “accredited: high performing” when they exceed accreditation expectations for that particular school year. More information about accreditation from the Colorado Department of Education. See individual School Accreditation Ratings as part of our School Profiles.

The Colorado Department of Education publishes the School Accountability Report (SAR) to provide a rating of public schools in comparison with other schools in the state for school staff, parents and community members. The SAR includes an overall academic performance rating (excellent, high, average, low, unsatisfactory) and an academic improvement rating (significant improvement, improvement, stable, decline, significant decline). These ratings are calculated annually from Colorado Student Assessment Program and Colorado ACT data.
Other information provided in each school’s SAR:
• CSAP performance
• Safety and discipline incidents
• Student/teacher ratio
• Teacher qualifications
• Budget and expenditures
More information about School Accountability Reports is available from the Colorado Department of Education. See individual School Accountability Reports as part of our School Profiles.

All three accountability systems report CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment Program) scores. The Colorado Student Assessment Program is given to students in grades three through 10.

CSAP tests are required by Colorado law and measure how well students have mastered the Colorado Model Content Standards in reading, writing, mathematics and science, depending on the student’s grade level. These standards describe what students should know and be able to do at specific grade levels.

CSAP doesn’t compare students. It measures how well each student is mastering content standards. Imagine students are running a race. CSAP doesn’t tell us which student is in front, who is in the middle and who is in last place. Instead, CSAP shows how far each student has moved toward the finish line. Students’ test results are reported according to four performance levels – advanced, proficient, partially proficient or unsatisfactory.
CSAP has several purposes:

• To tell students, parents and teachers how students are doing in mastering content standards.

• To give teachers feedback about where changes might need to be made in curriculum and instruction.
• To provide accountability to the community.