Posted inEquity, News

Colorado FAFSA rate rebounds but falls short of national average

The number of Colorado high school students completing federal financial aid forms increased for the first time since the start of the pandemic. That’s the good news. The bad news is that even Colorado’s improving rate falls well below the national average. Overall, Colorado’s Federal Application for Financial Aid completion rate increased by 2.2 percentage […]

Posted inCOVID, Education, News

Colorado districts prepare for CMAS testing amid uncertainty about federal waiver

Reluctant Colorado school districts are preparing to administer standardized tests amid uncertainty about whether the state can get any relief from federal testing requirements. Last Monday, federal education officials directed states to proceed with the administration of standardized tests, known here as the Colorado Measures of Academic Success or CMAS, because the tests will help […]

Posted inBusiness, Economy, Education, News

Colorado needs more skilled workers. But the state provides little help to adults trying to earn a college degree.

By Jason Gonzales, Chalkbeat Colorado Victoria Browning felt trapped.  To support her two young children, she worked full time caring for elderly people, earning $14 an hour. Every week was a struggle. So she enrolled at Concorde Career College Aurora Campus to get a shot at a better-paying job. Instead, she ended up with thousands […]

Posted inEducation, News

Jeffco to adopt new reading curriculum, push more uniform approach

It’s almost budget season and for many Colorado school districts out of compliance with state rules on reading, that means it’s time to talk about purchasing new curriculum. That’s what happened Thursday in Colorado’s second-largest school district, the 80,000-student Jeffco Public Schools. District leaders presented three options to replace the current mish-mash of programs used […]

Posted inEducation, News

Access to high-quality Colorado schools varies by ZIP code, report says

Access to high-quality schools varies significantly across Colorado, a new report has found,  with low-income families and people in rural areas less likely to have a school with high test scores within reasonable driving distance. The report from Ready Colorado, a conservative education advocacy group that supports school choice, puts numbers to education disparities and […]

Posted inEducation, News

Denver parents worry their children are learning less online, surveys indicate

Many Denver parents feel their children are learning less online than they would inside a classroom, and they’re worried their kids are falling behind, according to the results of two separate surveys — one of them a scientific poll — conducted by local advocacy groups. “Learning for my son from high school has been very […]