Durango School District recently celebrated rising CMAS test scores (Herald, Jul. 25). But before we applaud, let’s ask a harder question: What exactly are we celebrating?
Ten years ago, Colorado students regularly achieved 70–75% proficiency in reading and 50–60% in math. Today, only 59% of Durango elementary students are reading at grade level – and just 50% are proficient in math. That means half our students can’t do math at grade level, and 41% are reading below expectations. Across Colorado, the numbers are even worse.
We’re being told this is good news. But it looks a lot more like we’ve lowered the bar.
At the same time, per-pupil funding has increased significantly. Durango School District now receives over $13,000 per student, up from around $9,000 a decade ago. That doesn’t even include the millions in one-time federal COVID dollars. Yet there’s no clear link between this increased funding and improved outcomes.
Our kids deserve more than shifting benchmarks and lowered standards disguised as progress. We should be asking:
- Where is the accountability for performance?
- How is our funding being used to directly support student learning?
- Why are we normalizing mediocrity instead of demanding excellence?
The data doesn’t lie. Celebrating “growth” while nearly half our students remain behind is not success – it’s spin. Let’s raise the bar again and get serious about helping all students succeed.
Carol Lewin
Durango
