State Testing

As part of a balanced assessment system, state assessments provide valuable information to students, families, schools, districts, the state, and taxpayers. A balanced assessment system contains formative assessments (quick checks for learning conducted by teachers throughout their class), interim assessments (more formal progress monitoring conducted several times throughout the year to see how students are progressing), and summative assessments (end-of-course/unit, end of year assessments to find out what students know and can do). 

The state assessments are a type of summative assessment. While formative, interim, and classroom-based summative assessments inform classroom instruction regularly, state summative assessments are designed to be point-in-time snapshots of what students know and can do in core content areas. The assessment results are used by: parents/families to gauge student progress over time; teachers to inform and improve classroom practice and student placement; and schools/districts to inform program, school, and district improvement. The results are also the backbone of the state’s accountability system. They are used to populate the annual school and district performance frameworks that result in accreditation ratings for each school and district. The results can also used for teacher evaluation purposes as one of the multiple measures required under S.B. 10-191.

• CMAS serves as the only statewide indicator of student mastery of the Colorado State Standards. 

• CMAS provides valuable information on how our district compares to others. 

• CMAS allows parents the information to track student achievement year over year. 

• CMAS gives parents a gauge for their student's college and career readiness. 

Please watch this video for Sierra CMAS Information. 

• We value the data from CMAS because it helps us see how we are doing relative to grade level standards and compared to other schools. Not only are there benefits for our school when your student takes CMAS, but also, there are benefits for your student which we'll talk about in the video.
  • Opting your student out of taking CMAS is an option but would your student's data benefit our school? Does their data help us as a school? If your answer is YES, please consider the benefits to your student as well before opting them out.
  • Information about opting out is discussed in the video. Thank you for supporting the academic success of students here at Sierra Middle School.