Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) scores in writing for 2012 seemed to surprise some officials.

The percentage of students scoring proficient and advanced in writing in fourth and sixth grades dipped significantly across the state. Smaller drops were noted in fifth and ninth grades. Scores mostly improved, if barely, for third, seventh, eighth and 10th grades.

The state writing scores showed the largest changes among subject areas when comparing results from 2011 to 2012.

The state delayed the release of scores to school districts to look more deeply into writing results to ensure there was not a mistake associated with the first year of TCAP. It brought in a national organization to review the results.

“They checked all angles and certified that it is accurate, it was fully aligned to standards,” said Jo O’Brien, Colorado Department of Education assistant commissioner for assessment.

Not every Pikes Peak region school district experienced a dip in line with state writing scores, but most showed small declines. Colorado Springs School District 11 and Academy School District 20 both experienced a dip. A few local districts showed a dip in one grade, while holding steady in the other. School-by-school results varied more.

D-11 has programs aimed at boosting writing and reading scores, said Jeanice Swift, D-11 assistant superintendent for instruction, curriculum and student services.

Workshops at Steele Elementary School, for example, are focused on teaching every child to be an author, she said.

“It’s about learning to write,” Swift said, adding that it isn’t just about test scores. “It’s good for our kids.”

The percentage of Steele fourth-graders deemed proficient in writing increased about 17 percentage points from 2011 to 2012.

Cheyenne Mountain School District 12, which has some of the best assessment scores in the state, also saw the decrease in writing scores.

“We noticed a drop in fourth grade writing that was different, a bit strange. It was 83 last year and is 77 this year,” said Bev Tarpley, assistant superintendent. “It was the same across all our schools. We will ask CDE about it, what was on the test that we didn’t get?”