The standardized 2011 test scores of Colorado’s students were released this week, and overall, the numbers didn’t change much. About 485,000 students took the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests, which cover math, reading, writing and science.

Statewide, the number of students scoring proficient or advanced in reading decreased, while students with advanced or proficient writing scores increased in most grades. The number of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math grew in every grade except for third and ninth grades, while science scores among eighth- and 10th-graders improved since last year, but fifth-graders scores did not.

In La Plata County, school districts on average gained the most ground in writing scores. Those improvements were even more pronounced in statistics comparing the scores of the same class of students between last year and this year.

The percent of students in Durango School District 9-R scoring at or above proficiency was above state levels in all four subjects.

When the scores of each class, known as a cohort, were tracked as they progressed to the next grade level, writing scores generally improved from last year while reading scores stayed flat and math scores stayed the same or declined slightly.

Starting last year, the district realigned its language arts and math curriculum to the new state standards, which could be a reason for the improvement in writing scores, said Christy Bloomquist, director of federal programs and assessment for 9-R. Besides a few drops in cohort data, the district was pleased with its students’ performance, Bloomquist said.

“Overall we’re very stable,” she said. One of the more significant improvements was in fourth- and fifth-graders at Animas Valley Elementary, Bloomquist said. Those students writing scores showed 17 and 14 percent increases over last year.

Among students in the Ignacio School District, math was the weakest subject and reading scores didn’t show much improvement either.

Because the district knew math has not been one of its strong points, administrators tackled it first as a part of a multiyear effort to revamp and improve curriculum, said District Superintendent Rocco Fuschetto.

The district also is going to start a reading program in collaboration with the public library where all students will participate in reading time during the school day, Fuschetto said.

The district saw the most improvement in writing scores and also saw big gains from its outgoing class of sixth-graders. The percent of students in that group scoring proficient or advanced grew by an average of 20 points in writing, reading and math from last year to this year.

In all subjects, Ignacio students’ scores dropped off as they progressed in school. The percent of 10th-graders scoring proficient or advanced in math, for example was 5 percent, compared with 61 percent of third-graders.

Fuschetto said much of the problem lies in the test-taking system.

“In the later grades, kids will just sit there and fill in the bubbles without reading the question,” Fuschetto said. “There has to be a change in order for us to improve. There have to be consequences and accountability for students.”

The district’s scores, which are the lowest in the county, are a chance for improvement, he said.

“It’s going to take some time, but we’re going to get better,” he said. “We have to.”

Meanwhile, Bayfield School District students scored proficient or advanced in larger numbers than the state average in every subject. The largest changes between last year and this year were improvements in math and writing scores among 10th-graders and declines in the reading scores of seventh- and eighth-graders.

Last spring was the last time Colorado’s students will take the Colorado Student Assessment Program test. The CSAP will be replaced by a Common Core Standards Test in 2014, and in the meantime, students will take the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program test. The core standards test is in the works, and it will be aligned to new state curriculum standards. State educators are considering testing social studies in the new assessment. The choice would give one more piece of information to create a strong assessment for the student, Bloomquist said.

ecowan@durangoherald.com