Press Release- Feb 06, 2007
OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER, JR.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
TUESDAY, FEB. 6, 2007
Contact:
Evan Dreyer, 720.350.8370
GOV. RITTER SIGNS EDUCATION BILL
HB1048 allows Colorado to establish assessment tool
Gov. Bill Ritter today signed House Bill 1048, an education measure that will allow Colorado to establish a meaningful method of measuring individual student progress over time.
"This legislation is the first essential step toward accomplishing one of my primary goals," Ritter said, "and that's strengthening and streamlining the various federal, state and local accountability systems now in place in Colorado."
The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Sue Windels, D-Arvada, and Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs, directs the Colorado Department of Education to apply to the U.S. Department of Education for "safe harbor" flexibility under the terms of the No Child Left Behind Act. The designation will allow Colorado to use "longitudinal growth analysis" for measuring whether students are making Adequately Yearly Progress.
Current assessments in Colorado currently provide parents and teachers with only a limited snapshot of information.
"For instance, we only measure how one third-grade class performed against the next year's third-grade class," Ritter said. "But HB1048 will allow us to create a long-term growth model. We'll be able to see whether individual students are making progress toward a specific standard over a period of time."
"This will allow educators to make continuous assessments of student performance, and to make necessary adjustments before academic deficiencies escalate into devastating outcomes," the governor added.
Ritter said House Bill 1048 will help achieve his 10-year goal of cutting the high school drop-out rate and the state's frustrating achievement gap in half. "This is an important day in the history of education in Colorado," Ritter said.