News

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) released the 2012 3rd grade Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP), formerly known as the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP), reading results and Eagle County Schools’ (ECS) 3rd graders scored 74 percent Proficient or Advanced on the reading portion of the TCAP, mirroring the District’s score last year and State-wide average this year. 

Six out of nine of Eagle County Schools’ elementary schools maintained or improved their percentages from last year. Brush Creek Elementary School (BCES) had the highest percentage of students score Proficient/Advanced in the District at 93 percent, closely followed by Red Sandstone Elementary School (RSES) at 87 percent and Eagle County Charter Academy (ECCA) at 86 percent. Homestake Peak School (HPS) showed an impressive increase in the percentage of students scoring Proficient/Advanced, up from just 35 percent last year to 62 percent this year, while June Creek Elementary School (JCES) also displayed a vast improvement, increasing their score to 60 percent this year, up from 49 percent last year. Avon Elementary School (AES) and Red Hill Elementary School (RHES) boasted high scores as well, with 73 percent and 71 percent of third graders scoring proficient or advanced.

The continued success at BCES, RSES, ECCA, AES and RHES can partially be attributed to the fact that teachers are adequately using monthly student data to pinpoint each child’s strengths and areas of need that teachers then focus on for the following month. These common formative assessments are providing real-time data for teachers to identify areas in which they can reinforce instruction or modify delivery methods.

“With TCAP testing beginning in 3rd grade, this is our first look at how this particular group of students performs,” states Dr. Sandra Smyser, ECS Superintendent. “We continue to provide real-time data to teachers from the common formative assessments and remain committed to ensuring that our curriculum is aligned to both the new state standards and those assessments. In addition, our work to continue closing the achievement gap this year definitely supports the systems we have in place for both our teachers and our students. With more Spanish-speaking students attaining Fluent English Proficiency each year and incredible programs in place at our schools, we will continue to strive to push all of our students, both high-achieving and low-achieving.”

The TCAP is made up of two different types of test items: multiple choice items and constructive response items. For the constructive response items, students are asked to show their thinking in writing as a response to a question. On the reading portion of the TCAP, those questions are based on something the student reads, like a poem, story or non-fiction article. For third graders, in particular, 38 percent of the total items kids are asked are constructive response items and these scores are broken out into 2-point and 3-point questions. Impressively, Eagle County Schools noticed an increase of the ability of students to score more points on the constructive response items as compared to last year, which the District believes is a direct result of having these types of questions on the common formative assessments.

Eagle County Schools’ English-speaking 3rd grade students scored 89 percent Proficient or Advanced. This group of 3rd grade students includes native English speakers of all ethnic groups, as well as non-English speakers who have attained Fluent English Proficiency.

The 3rd grade TCAP is the first opportunity for English Language Learners to demonstrate their skills on an English test. Fifty-two percent of English Language Learners scored proficient or advanced on the reading portion of the 3rd grade TCAP (up from 50 percent last year), evidence that an achievement gap still exists in Eagle County Schools. The goal for our District is that our English Language Learners continue to improve as they master the English language.

Across all grade levels, 63 percent of Eagle County Schools’ students are English-speaking, while 37 percent are English Language Learners. Eagle County has an exceptionally higher number of English Language Learner students than the state, which reported 14 percent in 2011. 

“Given the fact that we implemented brand-new, district-wide curriculum in all grade levels this year, we are pleased that our third grade reading scores remained unchanged as a whole,” states Heather Eberts, ECS Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. “We attribute this success to the tremendous amount of work our teachers have engaged in. Even in the midst of all of the changes with curriculum and standards and challenges with the budget, our teachers have learned the new curriculum and implemented it successfully. This is true testament to the professionalism of people in our district and the focus on continuing to do what’s best for kids.”

Impressively, 549 students took the TCAP test this year, with only 35 students (or 6%) scoring in the ‘Unsatisfactory’ range, an improvement from 7% last year. This decrease can be attributed to the fact that we have focused our efforts on providing interventions to struggling students earlier on.
 
Below is a table that shows the Proficient/Advanced Scores of each of our schools, along with the percent of Native English-speaking and Fluent English Proficient students in that school.

The official Grade 3 TCAP Reading and Lectura Score release is anticipated to occur in August 2012 at the same time scores are released for the remaining TCAP content area tests, at which time additional information will be provided from Eagle County Schools. Third-grade results are generated earlier than other results to comply with the requirements of the Colorado Basic Literacy Act.

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