Press Release

CSAP Math And Science Scores Demand Stepped-Up Effort

Results reported today for eighth-grade Denver students who took the Mathematics and Science portions of the Colorado Student Assessment are unacceptably low, Superintendent Bernadette Seick said today.

The results establish a baseline for Denver performance, she said, but the district must re-double its effort to provide teachers with the skills they need to bring students to proficient levels on the state test.

"We recognize these results as being extremely poor," said Superintendent Seick. "Now, it's up to us to put more emphasis in this area of teaching. We've been bearing down on improving literacy skills, which are key building blocks for students in all areas of learning, including math and science. But it's obvious we need to support teachers and students in setting higher goals for these subjects, too."

In eighth-grade mathematics, 12 percent of students in DPS scored in the proficient or advanced categories. Statewide, 33 percent scored in the proficient or advanced categories.

In eighth-grade science, 19 percent of students in DPS scored in the proficient or advanced categories. Statewide, 45 percent scored in the proficient or advanced categories.

"The math assessments and science assessments do require good literacy skills - they require competency in reading and competency in writing to first understand the problems and then to explain in writing how a problem has been solved," said Beth Celva, Director of Assessment and Testing.

Celva urged teachers and students to recognize that state standards for both mathematics and science comprehension require dedicated problem-solving skills. "The nature of problem-solving requires true thought and sustained effort," said Celva.

Continued effort on teacher training, particularly in the area of teaching applied mathematics, is required, she said.

"The curriculum department is working very hard to promote the quality of standards-based instruction in mathematics," said Celva. "And as teachers formulate their own classroom assessments to look like CSAP assessments - with multiple tasks within the same problem - there will be fewer surprises for students when they are handed the CSAP."

The district, in conjunction with the University of Denver and Metropolitan State University, has focused on improving math and science teacher training at all grade levels through a grant from the National Science Foundation. The two years remaining under the grant will afford teachers the opportunity to focus on increasing student achievement in math and science through improvement in their instructional skills.

Also, the district three years ago increased its requirements for math and science graduation requirements. Previously, the requirements were 20 hours of math and 20 hours of science (ten semester hours is equivalent to one year of study). Currently, 30 hours of each subject are required for graduation.

A few individual middle schools posted good scores on the CSAP scores released today. At Hamilton Middle School, 38 percent of students were proficient or advanced in eighth-grade mathematics and 55 percent of students were proficient or advanced in eighth grade science. Also in science, 48 percent of students at Denver School of the Arts were proficient or advanced.