Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Assessments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Durango School Board accepts monitoring reports, highlights CMAS gains and remaining gaps
Summary
Boarders accepted multiple monitoring reports that show Durango School District ranking among Colorado districts on CMAS and PSAT/SAT measures while noting exceptions in some benchmarks and areas for improvement.
The Durango School District Board of Education accepted a series of superintendent monitoring reports and discussed student assessment results presented by district staff at its Sept. 23 meeting.
The board voted to accept Results Policy monitoring reports RPO 1 through RPO 4 with findings of “reasonable progress” and accepted OE‑11 (facilities) as in compliance. The accepted reports cover district mission and academic, social‑emotional and Portrait‑of‑a‑Graduate measures. Board members noted celebrations and areas that still need work, including SAT‑11 benchmarks and some CTE pathway metrics.
Superintendent Dr. Karen Chesser told the board that Durango ranks highly on statewide academic measures. “Durango School District ranks eleventh among all Colorado districts with 3,000 students on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), and ninth statewide when we add PSAT and SAT scores,” Chesser said. She cautioned that CMAS is not a 100‑point scale and that changes to the assessment over the last decade make some comparisons misleading.
Chesser and staff highlighted several positive outcomes the board discussed:
- K‑3 reading: expansion of Orton‑Gillingham approaches and reported gains on DIBELS benchmarks in some schools; - PSAT/SAT: district averages among the highest for rural districts; noted increases for Hispanic students and students with IEPs in some PSAT/SAT measures; - career and technical education: industry certifications increased and the district is expanding CTE pathways.
Board members also recorded exceptions and areas for follow‑up in the reports. The board noted that the district had not yet met the SAT‑11 college‑readiness benchmark included in RPO 1 and that the pathway‑completer metric used in CTE reporting may not fully reflect student opportunity; the board asked staff to propose alternate measures for completion and access.
Juniper School results: Philip Merline, head of school at the charter Juniper School, presented CMAS results for that K‑8 charter. Merline described participation and subgroup challenges at the middle school level, noting some opt‑outs among middle school families and a higher share of students with IEPs; he said the school has sent staff to additional professional development and hired intervention staff to support growth.
Board discussion: Board members asked for follow‑up presentations that explain which policies or classroom practices are driving subgroup gains so successful approaches can be replicated across the district. Several board members suggested live site visits or student capstone observations so the board can see Portrait‑of‑a‑Graduate competencies in action.
Why this matters: The monitoring reports set district‑level targets the board uses to hold the superintendent accountable. Acceptance of the reports does not itself change classroom practice, but the board’s immediate requests for specific follow‑up and clarifying metrics will shape the superintendent’s next steps.
Ending: The board and district staff agreed to return with refined metrics for CTE pathway completion, a clearer accounting of SAT‑11 benchmarks and proposed edits to results indicators for future monitoring cycles.
