During its October meeting, the Colorado State Board of Education received updates on the Department of Education’s strategic initiatives aimed at improving student engagement and academic performance.
The department has established targets for the 2027-2028 school year. These include reducing chronic absenteeism from a high of 35.5% in 2021-22 to half that rate, and increasing the percentage of third graders who meet or exceed expectations on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) English Language Arts tests to 60%.
In the current school year, average daily attendance across Colorado remained at 91.4%, with chronic absenteeism at 28.4%. These figures are consistent with last year’s data. Sixty percent of districts showed improvements in both attendance and chronic absenteeism rates, with notable gains among kindergarten through second-grade students statewide. Two-thirds of districts participating in the Attendance Learning Cohort reported progress.
The department’s Every School Day Matters campaign now includes more than 50 schools and districts working toward reducing chronic absenteeism by half. The campaign is supported by expanded professional learning opportunities, stronger partnerships with families and communities, and efforts to promote engaging instruction.
In literacy, the department aims for every child to read at grade level by third grade, targeting an increase from 42% in 2024 to 60% by 2028 for third-graders meeting or exceeding expectations on CMAS English language arts assessments. According to CDE staff, “There are promising signs of progress.” Statewide rates of significant reading deficiencies continue to decline, while schools involved in CDE’s Early Literacy Grant have shown stronger reading gains compared to state averages. Nearly 60% of K–3 students now attend schools participating in the Early Literacy Assessment Tool project.
To further support improvement, CDE is sharing effective instructional practices, updating data systems for better district support, and strengthening local instructional leadership.
Additionally, the board unanimously approved changes to rules for administering the Public Transportation Fund—raising the threshold for capital outlay expenditures from $100 to $10,000 and expanding allowable reimbursable expenses—and rules regarding accounting and reporting that add references to Universal Preschool Program and Healthy School Meals for All.
The department states: “The Colorado Department of Education’s vision is to create equitable educational environments where all students and staff in Colorado thrive. Our role is to improve student outcomes and ensure students and families across Colorado have access to high-quality schools by serving, guiding, and elevating our state’s 178 school districts and BOCES.”
