Standardized testing data shows district-wide growth at Roaring Fork Schools

In April 2016, all Roaring Fork students in 3rd through 9th grades took the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments. This was the second year that Colorado and Roaring Fork students participated in the assessment. On Sept. 20, the Colorado Department of Education released the academic growth summary for this assessment. The growth summary provides information about how much students grew since taking the assessment in 2015 relative to their academic peers, as well as the median growth rates of schools and districts compared to the state.

In mathematics, there were promising gains in the performance levels of Roaring Fork students in the higher grade levels. Across nearly all grades, Roaring Fork students outperformed the state in growth. In particular, the district’s middle and high school students demonstrated consistent growth in mathematics. The district saw pockets of exceptional growth at the school level at Crystal River Elementary, Carbondale Middle School, Basalt Middle School, Glenwood Springs High School, Roaring Fork High School, and Basalt High School.

The ELA results were equally positive. As a district, Roaring Fork Schools outperformed Colorado on the percentage of 7th and 8th grade students who met or exceeded grade-level expectations. Roaring Fork Schools’ median growth percentile was 56 percent compared to Colorado’s 50 percent. In reviewing the district’s school-level ELA growth results, middle school growth stands out as remarkable at all three area middle schools: Glenwood Springs Middle School, Carbondale Middle School, and Basalt Middle School.

One particularly positive story of growth played out at Crystal River Elementary School, a school previously on improvement watch. This year, the school outperformed the district and state in nearly every student subgroup in ELA and mathematics growth.

Because only students in select (5th, 8th, and 11th) grades took the science assessment, growth data, which compares individual student growth from year-to-year, is unavailable.