This spring Pomona's freshmen and sophomores will face the addition of 12 hours of testing mandated by Colorado Law. Governor Bill Owens signed Senate Bill 186, recently passed in the 2000 legislative session, which mandates the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) tests to be taken by all students in grades 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th, and also requires juniors to take the ACT on April 25.

The CSAP will be administered to sophomores over a total of six days, beginning February 13, 14, and 15. The Freshmen and Sophomore classes will both be tested the following week on February 21, 22, and 23. State law requires that tests must be completed and delivered to state officials by March 1.

A meeting held in the auditorium on the evening of January 10 allowed for Killian to explain the grading system, test requirements, and answer questions from parents.

The tests measure progress in the State Content Standards for reading, mathematics, and writing; future tests will also include science content. "The tests were designed with open ended questions, as opposed to multiple choice, to encourage students to draw from all of their math background to receive the maximum score," stated Tom Francis, Pomona Math Department chair.

This year's ninth graders will be tested only over reading standards. Sophomores will be tested over reading, writing, and mathematics. The writing and mathematics tests account for the six hours required for sophomores.

CSAP tests will not be publicly but will be included on report cards and transcripts. But the overall results for each school will be publicized. Each high school in Colorado will receive a standard A, B, C, D, or F letter grade. The grades are determined from an average of student index scores. "Advanced" scores earn the school 1.5 points, "meets standard" 1 point, "partially proficient" .5 points, and "unsatisfactory" -.5 points. Students who fail to take the test will receive an "unsatisfactory" score.

Schools who test in the top eight percent will receive an A, the next 25 percent will receive a B, the middle 40 percent a C, the lower 25 percent a D, and the bottom two percent will receive grades of F. Additionally, Pomona will be compared to the ten nearest schools, including Standley Lake, Arvada, and Arvada West High School.

Colorado legislators are currently considering dropping the letter grades and reporting results in terms of these descriptions only.

Although individual rankings will not be reported, individual scores will be printed on student transcripts. "We hope that having a score that will be permanently on transcripts will provide the same incentive to do well as other standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT," explained Rod Killian, executive director of Assessments.

CSAP laws were passed in an effort to determine which content areas need to be focused on by schools. "Those schools receiving grades of C, D, and F will be given additional resources to bring up their index scores," commented Rod Killian, Executive Director of Assessments.