Denver's Goldrick Elementary celebrates math and literacy growth on state tests

Families across the state learning today how their kids and schools performed on standardized tests after the Colorado Department of Education released statewide results last week.

Schools across the country have worked to bounce back from Covid learning loss. Goldrick Elementary School in Denver Public Schools saw roughly 60 percent growth in both literacy and math.

"We're here in southwest Denver in the Athmar Park neighborhood, we have about 370 students about 95 percent of our families identify as Latino or Latinx. About 90 percent of our families qualify for free or reduced lunch," said Goldrick Principal Taryn Rawson.

The CMAS test results did not come as a surprise to teachers at Goldrick. They test kids often and work hard to make sure every student receives the support they need to grasp what they need to learn.

Rawson added, "We make sure that students who need additional time to solidify skills get that additional time because we know kids learn at different rates. Kids who need extra time to master something, get that at our school."

Fifth grade teacher Craig Sellers says part of the magic too is low teacher turnover.  Goldrick, he says, has great collaboration.

"When you have that kind of consistency from year to year to year, you know what to expect from the students as they come from the 4th grade and the teacher knows what to expect from the students when they come from the 3rd grade, and it hasn't always been like that at this school," said Sellers.

The biggest joy comes from seeing children feel confidence in their learning.

Kindergarten teacher and math coach Gonzalo Maldonado said, "We feel super proud especially when you hear parents say, 'My kid is looking forward to doing his homework or her homework because they really like math and we can see the growth when they are doing it at home.'"

While Goldrick still has only about 3 in 10 students proficient in literacy and math on CMAS, the remarkable growth is an inspiration to strive for even better outcomes next year.

"We can see that we are impacting their future," added Maldonado.

The school level and district scores made public today can be found here: https://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/cmas