Index: Education
Education - K-12
Quick Data Links
What's New (updated 5/19/10)
Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters [pdf] - a special KIDS COUNT report from the Annie E. CaseyFoundation. Colorado ranked 36thin the nation on the 2007 4th grade reading assessment test with ascore of 187, below the Basic score of 208 and well below the Proficient scoreof 238.
Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters [pdf] - a special KIDS COUNT report from the Annie E. CaseyFoundation. Colorado ranked 36thin the nation on the 2007 4th grade reading assessment test with ascore of 187, below the Basic score of 208 and well below the Proficient scoreof 238.
What We Measured:
- Disciplinary Actions
- Enrollment - Public Schools
- Enrollment - Ethnicity
- Enrollment - Public, Home-Based & Non-Public Schools
- Enrollment - Special Education
- Funding Per Pupil
- Pupil/Teacher Ratio
- Students Eligible for Free/Reduced School Lunch
- Teachers - Ethnicity & Gender
- Teachers - Salary
Achievement
- ACT Scores
- CSAP scores
- Dropout Rates
- High School Graduation Rates (by School District, Ethnicity, & Gender)
Highlights:
- There was a 5.7% increase in suspensions from Larimer County schools during the 2008-09 school year, whereas the number of expulsions remained the same over the previous school year. (Disciplinary Actions)
- Larimer County public school enrollment increased by 6.9% from 2000-01 to 2009-10. Park School District enrollment fell by 10.6% during this time period, which was an actual drop of 144 students. (Enrollment - Public Schools)
- From 2001 to 2009, Hispanic student enrollment in Larimer County school districts increased by 52.8%. In comparison, total enrollment in Larimer County public schools only increased 5.8%. (Enrollment - Ethnicity)
- In 2009-10, the majority of K-12 students in Larimer County were enrolled in public schools(91.8%), followed by non-public school enrollment (6.7%) and home-based schooling (1.5%). (Enrollment - Public, Home-Based & Non-Public Schools)
- In 2009-10, special education students comprised 10.2% of the total student enrollment in Larimer County public schools. (Enrollment - Special Education)
- For the 2009-10 school year, Park School District’s per pupil funding ($7,525) was 4.1% greater than the average for the State of Colorado ($7,226). Poudre and Thompson School Districts’ per pupil funding ($6,857) was 5.1% less than the state average. (Funding Per Pupil)
- The average pupil/teacher ratio in the Larimer County School Districts decreased from 16.2 in 2008-09 to 16.0 in 2009-10. (Student/Teacher Ratios)
- From 2005 to 2009, Larimer County’s three school districts averaged a 23.4% increase in the number of students qualifying for free and reduced lunches. Statewide, over the same time period, eligibility grew by about 14.3%. (Students Eligible for Free/Reduced School Lunch)
- For school year 2009-10 the percentages of students from each race/ethnic group, with the exception of White, were higher than those of teachers. White teachers were overrepresented while Hispanic and Black teachers were underrepresented in relation to the number of students from each group. (Teachers - Ethnicity & Gender)
- Between the 2000-01 and 2009-10 school years, average salaries in Park School District had the highest percentage increase (30%) followed by Poudre (23%) and Thompson (21%). (Teachers Salary)
Achievement
- In 2009-10, all three school districts scored higher than the state average on all four tests. (ACT Scores)
- In 2009-010, Poudre and Thompson School District students scored higher than the State in percentages of students scoring in the 'Proficient and Advanced' category in both Reading and Math at all grade levels. (CSAP Scores)
- In 2008-2009, Hispanic students comprised nearly 16% of the student population in Larimer County; however, nearly 39% of students dropping out that year were Hispanic. (Dropout Rates)
- Larimer County School Districts had higher graduation rates than the state average from 2004-05 to 2008-09. In Poudre and Thompson School Districts, Hispanic students continue to have a lower graduation rate than White students. (High School Graduation Rates)
Related Studies:
- The Condition of Education 2009 [pdf] (June 2009) - this report, prepared by the National Center for Education Statistics, summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest data available.
- The State of Children and Youth in Larimer County (July 2009) [pdf], this report, prepared by Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County, offers a snapshot of how children and youth in Larimer County are doing at the beginning of the 21st century.
- According to the 2009 Kidscount in Colorado! [pdf], Larimer County youth (pg. 79) fair better than the Colorado average in the majority of categories measured, but continue to lag behind the Colorado average on measures such as mothers smoking during pregnancy and early prenatal care. (Colorado Children's Campaign, June 2009)
- Full Day Kindergarten [pdf] (August 2008) - this short report, prepared by Colorado Children's Campaign, discusses the advantages to having full day kindergartens throughout Colorado.
- The Nation's Report Card: Mathematics 2009 [pdf] (September 2009) - according to this report, only eighth-graders throughout the country reached higher performance levels in mathematics in 2009 than in previous years. In Colorado, only fourth-graders saw an improvement from 2007.
- Projection of Education Statistics to 2017 [pdf] (September 2008) - this publication provides projections for key education statistics including enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools for all fifty states.
- Alternative Compensation [pdf] (September 2008) - this four-page document explores the possibility of changing the way teachers are compensated in Colorado.
- Measuring Up 2006 [pdf] - (September 2006) A report produced by the National Center for Public Policy & Higher Education grades all 50 states in areas of performance related to higher education.
- Larimer County's School Accountability Reports are available in a searchable database at the Colorado Department of Education.
- Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007 - this collaborative report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics examines crime occurring in schools and on the way to and from school. It presents data from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population, using a comprehensive array of sources.
- Colorado State University Research and Development Center for the Advancement of Student Learning - this site posts studies on topics related to improving the quality of education.
- Poudre School District (PSD) Annual Accountability Reports - information about district-wide student achievement, graduation requirements and rates, test scores, and individual schools within the district.
- Thompson School District Strategic Plan 2006 - 2011 [pdf]
Related issues within Compass:
- Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs - Youth
- Child Abuse
- Children in Families - Single & Two Parent
- Children's Health
- Early Childhood Education
- Students Eligible for Reduced/Free School Lunch
- Grandparents as Caregivers
- Juvenile Arrests
- Juveniles on Probation
- Language Spoken at Home
- Mental Health
- Poverty - Children
- Population by Age
Additional Resources:
- Colorado Department of Education
- Colorado State University Department of Education
- Estes Park School District
- Federation for Children with Special Needs
- Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County (HCC) - is a broad-based coalition of nonprofit, business, government and citizen leaders focused on improving the health and well-being of Larimer County residents.
- National Center for Education Statistics
- National Center for Learning Disabilities
- Poudre School District
- Thompson School District