Littleton Public Schools awarded Accredited with Distinction rating for the 8th consecutive year; Students continue to perform well on CMAS tests; achieve the highest percentages “meeting or exceeding expectations” ever in 11 areas tested; LPS saw highest academic growth in Denver Metro Area

Littleton Public Schools is pleased to announce that it has earned a 2018 rating of Accredited with Distinction. This is the 8th consecutive year LPS has earned the top rating from the Colorado Department of Education. Districts Accredited with Distinction have earned 80% or more of possible points on the District Performance Frameworks. Colorado’s school accountability system rates districts based on achievement on state literacy, math and science tests, on annual academic growth and on postsecondary readiness as measured by graduation rates, dropout rates, scores on college entrance exams and enrollment in college. (Rankings are considered preliminary at this time and will be finalized in December.)

“Being Accredited with Distinction for the 8th year, experiencing some of our highest test scores ever and having the highest growth in both literacy and math is extraordinary,” said LPS Director of Learning Services Patti Turner. “This is due to the amazing dedication, professionalism and expertise of our teachers, special service providers and school administrative teams as well as the tremendous enthusiasm and commitment of our paraprofessionals.”

Earlier this month, the Colorado Department of Education released statewide, district and school level results of the 2018 Math, English language arts and science Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) tests. Colorado 3rd through 11th graders took these tests last spring. Performance is broken into five levels and indicates what a typical student at each level should know based on their command of grade-level content standards:

• Level 5:  Exceeded expectations
• Level 4:  Met expectations
• Level 3:  Approached expectations
• Level 2:  Partially met expectations
• Level 1:  Did not yet meet expectations

Students scoring in levels 4 and 5 are considered on track for “college and career readiness.” Students scoring in levels 1, 2 and 3 “may need additional support to be on track for college and career readiness.”

English Language Arts
Littleton Public Schools students performed well on the English language arts assessment. When looking at scores that “met or exceeded expectations”:

• Scores improved in 4 of 6 grades tested;
• LPS students outperformed the state overall by double digits at all grade levels tested;
• In 12 of 15 elementary schools, 3rd and 4th grade scores were above the state average;
• 4th grade scores improved in 13 of 15 elementary schools and increased by double digits in 3 schools;
• 5th grade scores improved in 10 of 15 elementary schools and increased by double digits in 4 schools. 5th grade scores in 13 of 15 elementary schools were above the state average;
• 6th grade scores improved in 5 of 6 schools and were above the state average;
• 7th grade scores were above the state average;
• 8th grade scores improved in 5 of 6 schools and were above the state average.

Cohort scores follow a group of students from one year to the next. When looking at cohort scores that “met or exceeded expectations”:

• 3rd grade to 4th grade cohort scores improved from last year in 9 of 15 elementary schools;
• 4th grade to 5th grade cohort scores improved from last year in 11 of 15 elementary schools;
• 6th grade to 7th grade cohort scores improved from last year in 5 of 6 middle schools.

Mathematics
Littleton Public Schools students performed well on the mathematics assessment. When looking at scores that “met or exceeded expectations”:

• 3rd grade scores improved in 5 of 15 elementary schools. 12 of 15 schools exceeded the state average, 11 of them by double digits;
• 4th grade scores improved in 8 of 15 elementary schools. 11 of 15 schools exceeded the state average, all 11 of them by double digits;
• 5th grade scores improved in 6 of 15 elementary schools, one by double digits. 10 of 15 schools exceeded the state average, 9 by double digits;
• 6th grade scores improved in 4 of 6 middle schools. All 6 exceeded the state average, 5 of them by double digits;
• 7th grade scores improved in 4 of 6 middle schools. All 6 exceeded the state average, 5 of 6 by double digits;
• 8th grade scores improved in 5 of 6 middle schools. 5 of 6 exceeded the state average, 3 of them by double digits;
• Algebra 1 scores improved or maintained in 5 of 6 middle schools and exceeded the state average by 19 percentage points. (Only middle school students enrolled in Algebra 1 took this test.);
• Geometry scores improved or maintained in 5 of 6 middle schools. 5 of 6 middle schools exceeded the state average, 4 of them by double digits. 4 schools had 100 percent “proficient.” (Only 8th grade students enrolled in Geometry took this test.)

Science
Littleton Public Schools students performed well on the science assessment. Students in Grades 5, 8 and 11 took the science assessment. When looking at scores that “met or exceeded expectations”:

• 5th grade scores in 12 of 15 elementary schools exceeded the state average, 4 of them by double digits;
• 8th grade scores in all 6 middle schools exceeded the state average by double digits;
• 11th grade scores in all 3 high schools exceeded the state average, 2 by double digits. State law allows for parent refusals, and the 2018 Grade 11 Science assessment experienced very high numbers of parents who opted their students out.

Highest Achievement Results in LPS to Date
In addition, Littleton Public Schools students in 2018 have the highest achievement results in LPS to date in the following areas:

• 4th English Language Arts
• 5th English Language Arts
• 6th English Language Arts
• 8th English Language Arts
• 6th Math
• 7th Math
• 8th Math
• Algebra 1
• Geometry
• 8th Science
• 11th Science

Chalkbeat Colorado did a metro-area comparison on growth rates in literacy and math. Littleton Public Schools students showed the greatest growth in both literacy and math:

(Credit: Sam Park via Chalkbeat)

(Credit: Sam Park via Chalkbeat)

CMAS growth data, scores and additional information about CMAS, SAT and PSAT 10 can be found on the Colorado Department of Education’s website.