Student Academic Standards and Assessments

Our Association supports the implementation of the 1993 Colorado Standards & Assessments Act because raising academic standards is a tool to improve student achievement.

• The State Model Content Standards were developed by teachers, parents, and other citizens over two years. The standards were developed in two tiers: basic academic subjects such as reading and writing in the first tier; subjects such as art and foreign languages in the second tier. The standards were adopted by the State Board of Education in the 1995 following three public reviews.
• The State Model Contents Standards describe what students should know and be able to do in K-12 academic subject areas. School districts are required to develop their own academic standards that meet or exceed the state standards or adopt the state standards. They are also required to develop assessments to measure their own standards.
• The assessment component of the 1993 law is called the Colorado State Assessment Program or CSAP.