Eight of the 10 public elementary and middle schools that serve Central Park far exceeded average scores by Denver Public Schools and the rest of the state on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) taken this past spring.
The results released by the state Department of Education Aug. 17 showed that those eight schools scored between 10 and 44 percentage points higher than DPS and the state in English language arts. The average difference was 30 points.
In math, the CP scores ranged from 14 to 54 points higher for an average of 34 points. See chart below for individual school scores. Parents can request their child’s CMAS scores from their school.
This is the second year that Colorado returned to a typical testing schedule after modifications in 2021 and the cancellation of the tests in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the spring, students in third through eighth grade took CMAS tests in English language arts and math. Students in fifth, eighth and 11th grade took CMAS science tests. Students in ninth and 10th grade took the PSAT tests and 11th graders took the SAT. Click here for assessment results for all Colorado schools and districts which are located on CDE’s website.
A primary goal for DPS and all school districts is to reduce the longstanding disparity between how well racial minority and lower income students perform academically compared to their more affluent counterparts, also known as the achievement gap.
In 2023 the gap for all DPS is 41.5 percentage points, according to the state CMAS data results for English language arts. For math it is 40 points.
The achievement gaps in Central Park between lower income students and their more affluent counterparts were narrower but only slightly. Lower income students are those eligible for free or reduced-price lunches or FRL.
The lower income student population is made up predominantly of Black and Hispanic children in Denver and nationally, according to district and U.S. Census data.
In English language arts non-FRL students in those 8 CP schools scored from 65% to 87% as meeting or exceeding expectations. FRL students ranged from 20% to 51%. The average achievement gap was 34.5 percentage points.
In math non-FRL students in those 8 CP schools scored from 57.6% to 81.7% as meeting or exceeding expectations. FRL students ranged from 7.4% to 41.7%. The average achievement gap was 38.5 percentage points.
The two schools that did not exceed district or state CMAS averages were middle schools DSST-Conservatory Green and DSST-Montview. High schools do not take CMAS tests. Rather, those students take the PSAT or the SAT exams.
(The Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities produces CPENews and supports many Central Park public schools with grants for education programming.)
Central Park Schools 2023 CMAS Results
(Source: )
|
School |
English Language Arts – All Students | Math – All Students | English Language Arts – Free/Reduced Lunch (FRL) | English Language Arts – Non-FRL | Math – Free/Reduced Lunch (FRL) | Math – Non-FRL |
| Statewide | 43.7% | 32.9% | 24.2% | 57% | 15% | 45.2% |
| Denver Public Schools | 40.3%
|
30.3% | 21.8% | 63.3% | 13.1% | 53.3% |
| Denver Green School – Northfield (MS) | 77.7% | 59.8% | 46.3% | 82.9% | 26.9% | 65.3% |
| DSST: Conservatory Green (MS) | 32% | 20% | 30.2% | 35.6% | 17% | 25.9% |
| DSST: Montview (MS) | 32.4% | 25.8% | 24.4% | 50.8% | 21.3% | 36.1% |
| Inspire (ECE-5) | 60.9% | 51.6% | 43.5% | 65.7% | 28.9% | 57.6% |
| Isabella Bird Community School (ECE-5) | 50.9%
|
43.9% | 20.4% | 65% | 7.4% | 60.7% |
| McAuliffe Int’l (MS) | 75.1% | 68.7% | 37.9% | 83.5% | 30.6% | 77.3% |
| Swigert International
(ECE-5) |
75.3% | 66.8% | 41.2% | 80% | 33.3% | 71.6% |
| Westerly Creek (ECE-5) | 75.8% | 75.1% | 50% | 80.2% | 38.1% | 81.5% |
| Willow (ECE-5) | 64.8% | 52.8% | 46.5% | 68.6% | 37.2% | 56.1% |
| William Roberts (ECE-8) | 84.2% | 78.8% | 51.4% | 87% | 41.7% | 81.7% |
