Students in and around Colorado Springs posted improvements overall on standardized test results that Colorado public school students take every spring, inching closer to pre-pandemic levels, according to district and school results the Colorado Department of Education made public Thursday.

The 2024 Colorado Measures of Academic Success showed continued growth in math and English Language Arts scores from the previous year, nearly closing the gap since COVID-19 began spreading in March 2020. The pandemic prevented CMAS testing from being administered in the 2019-2020 academic year.

Educators now consider 2019 scores a benchmark year.

Four years later, among all 178 public school districts statewide math scores rose slightly with 34.2% of students meeting or exceeding expectations, up by 1.3%, while English scores saw a nominal bump of 0.4% up to 44.1% meeting or exceeding expectations, the Education Department reported last week.

Colorado’s math scores have caught up with pre-COVID scores, while English scores continue to trail, but by less than a half-percentage point.

Students in grades 3-8 are tested for math and English Language Arts annually, and students in fifth, eighth and 11th grades take CMAS science assessments. Secondary students also take the SAT and PSAT college-readiness exams administered by the College Board.

A Gazette analysis of test results of students in the 17 Pikes Peak region districts indicates academic progress in English Language Arts and math overall, with gains and losses varying from district to district. Cheyenne Mountain D-12, Colorado Springs D-11, Academy D-20, District 49, Fountain-Fort Carson D-8, Edison 54 JT, Peyton 23 JT and Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 reported improvements in English and math in 2024.

Despite the gains for the districts individually, 11 in the region ranked below the state’s average percentage in English this year while 12 did for math.

Work also still remains for most districts to regain their pre-COVID scores, though this gap is nearly closed in most instances.

The two highest-performing districts in the area, Cheyenne Mountain D-12 and Academy D-20, are within 1 percentile of meeting or surpassing pre-COVID results in both subjects.

When compared with 2019 test results, multiple districts including D-11 have met or surpassed these totals in one of the two subjects.

“In line with state trends, our math performance is above pre-pandemic levels,” D-11 Superintendent Michael Gaal said.

“Most notably, District 11 is outperforming state trends in ELA, with our lowest-performing schools achieving double-digit gains and closing gaps in the percentage of students meeting grade-level expectations.

“While we celebrate these successes, we remain dedicated to continued improvement. Our focus is on building upon this momentum and striving for even greater achievements in the coming years. We look forward to working together as a community to ensure that every student in District 11 has the opportunity to thrive.”

To date, only three of the Colorado Springs-area districts have met or surpassed their test score averages from 2019. Manitou Springs D-14 has surpassed these figures for the past three academic years, while Calhan RJ-1 improved in math and English in 2021. In subsequent years, Calhan has steadily increased its English scores but saw decreases in its math scores.

Marking arguably the biggest improvements this year was Woodland Park RE-2. In addition to improving math and English scores by nearly 10% in the spring testing cycle, the district is the latest to reach and then improve both of its 2019 scores and by significant margins. Scoring 39.3% for math and 52.6% for English Language Arts, the district also surpasses this year’s state average for both subjects.

When accounting for the districts’ testing results this year, Cheyenne Mountain D-12 and Academy D-20 both ranked in the top 10 across the state at one and 10, respectively.

Gazette contributor Evan Wyloge provided the data analysis of Colorado Measures of Academic Success test scores.