Statewide test scores released Thursday show Colorado students have returned to, or surpassed, pre-pandemic levels for all subjects and grades — with two exceptions: fourth-grade English, and English and math in eighth grade.

But not in Denver.

Students in Denver Public Schools trail the statewide recovery.

The Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) — the state’s standardized test — provides the clearest picture yet of how much ground students have regained since the pandemic, when officials shut down classrooms and pivoted students to remote learning.

DPS students are close to regaining pre-pandemic performance levels in English, where test scores are just 0.8% below 2019. In math, 32.9% of students met expectations this year, compared with 32.7% in 2019.

“The district acknowledges that ensuring we exceed pre-pandemic performance across all assessments must be a focus for this upcoming year,” Scott Pribble, a district spokesperson, said in an email to The Denver Gazette. “We do believe that utilizing a quality knowledge-building curriculum to support our educators in preparing to effectively teach the different domains of literacy will continue to ensure greater increases in achievement.”

Pribble added that the new instruction materials will address accelerating language and contest mastery for each student.

For all the hand wringing to get back to pre-pandemic attainment levels, many regard the 2019 academic performance as inadequate.

With 44.5% of students reaching the English benchmark in 2019 and 32.7% in math, the CMAS results make clear that most students are falling short of state standards. In 2019, 55.5% of students across Colorado did not meet state expectations in English and 67.3% in math.

Students across the state have essentially returned to pre-pandemic performance levels, with 44.8% meeting expectations in English and 35.9% in math — nearly identical to the 2019 benchmarks.

Officials framed the overall test results as encouraging, with increased student participation at 89.1% — the highest since the pandemic — and steady, incremental academic improvement.

While mostly welcomed news to educators, the results also come with an all-too-familiar caveat: significant achievement gaps and lower growth still persist for students along race and ethnicity, income, language and disability status.

“When considering low achievement and low growth together, these particular groups of students would benefit from continued support to accelerate growth to help meet grade-level expectations,” state officials said.

‘There is work ahead’

The Colorado Department of Education administers the CMAS test for reading and math for 3rd-through-11th graders each spring. Students are also tested, to a lesser extent, in science and social studies.

CMAS is an annual measure of student success.

The release on Thursday also included PSAT and SAT assessments, which measures college readiness.

“We’re encouraged by the progress many student groups are making,” Susana Córdova, Colorado Education Commissioner and former DPS superintendent, said in a statement.

“At the same time, we know there is work ahead to ensure more students are meeting Colorado’s academic expectations across every grade and subject. Persistent achievement gaps highlight the importance of continuing our efforts to support every learner. These results reinforce our commitment to equity, strong support systems, and high expectations for all students.”

Among the highlights:

• Polaris Elementary School in Denver was the best performer in the metro area, with 94% of students meeting or exceeding the state’s English standard and 92.4% in math.

● Aurora West College Preparatory Academy in the Aurora Public Schools’ district had the lowest performance, with just one in 18 students meeting the English standard, and one in 125 in math.

● Douglas County students nabbed the top scores across the metro Denver area, with two-thirds meeting the English standard and more than half in math.

● Sheridan School District No. 2 was the metro’s lowest performer, with about one in 10 meeting the English standard and one in 20 in math.

● Overall, females performed higher in English than males, while males did so in math.

The test results were met with praise from school officials who have struggled to make up student learning losses in the pandemic.

‘Moving in the right direction’

District officials across metro Denver said the results underscore their focus on broader student success.

“While test scores provide only one snapshot of student achievement, these results highlight the importance of our continued focus on strong classroom instruction, student wellness, and the priorities outlined in our Strategic Plan,” Lauren Snell, a Cherry Creek Schools spokesperson, said in an email to The Denver Gazette.

Cherry Creek’s English scores were essentially flat, down just 0.1% from last year, while math scores climbed two points to 42.8%.

Douglas County students improved year-over-year, with English scores rising to 63.4% from 62.3% and math climbing to 55.5% from 52.3%.

“DCSD (Douglas County School District) continues to have increased overall proficiency in both ELA and Math, so more DCSD students are meeting and exceeding grade level expectations,” Paula Hans, a district spokesperson, said in an email. “We are especially pleased with the progress made in Math where our students had increased proficiency across all grade levels.

“These scores are a testament to the hard work of our students and staff,” Hans said.

In two years, Jeffco Public Schools has raised it English scores 1.7% and math by 4.1%.

JeffCo Superintendent Tracy Dorland — who has faced scrutiny over her handling of sexual misconduct-related cases — said consistent growth essentially requires two things: good teaching materials and great educators.

“I believe our focus on investing in high quality resources and supporting amazing educators works,” Dorland told The Denver Gazette.

Among DPS schools, the campus with the greatest academic improvement year-over-year was Columbine Elementary School, with 44.6% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in English, an 18.5% rise, and 33.7% in Math, a 14.2% increase.

Columbine is among the top 10 performers in the state, a Denver Gazette analysis has found.

Steck Elementary School in Denver saw one of the steepest declines — although a majority of students are meeting expectations — 77.2% in English and 78.9% in math.

Denver Montessori Junior/Senior High School actually showed a greater slip, but did not have math results.

Superintendent Alex Marrero said in a statement that he is “extremely proud” of the continued student improvement.

“I am particularly encouraged to see that our Black, Hispanic, Asian and White students are all demonstrating higher growth than their peers across Colorado in CMAS for ELA and Math,” Marrero said. “This progress is a positive sign that our focus on scaling quality teaching and learning across the district is making a real difference for all of our students.”

Spanish speakers, who tested in Spanish as part of the state’s Spanish Language Arts for third and fourth graders, lagged significantly behind other students, with just 16.7% meeting or exceeding expectations.

In addition to test scores, the state also tracks “growth measures,” which chart individual student progress over time to gauge improvement.

Carol Bowar, director of School Quality for Denver Families for Public Schools, said that while a point-in-time snapshot, the CMAS scores do provide an important insight into how well students are being educated.

“I think that if growth is heading in the right direction, proficiency will catch up,” Bowar said.

Denver Families for Public Schools is a nonprofit organization that promotes “educational equity” by boosting civic engagement and voter participation, according to the group’s website.

Bowar, who was an educator during COVID-19, said the pandemic felt like a “meatgrinder” that set students back years.

That can’t just be overcome in a single year, Bowar said.

“They don’t just snap out of it,” she said. “They grow out of it.”

And the district’s growth numbers, Bowar said, are a good indicator.

“I think, overall, most things are moving in the right direction,” she said.