Joyce Rankin https://www.durangoherald.com/section/columnists-joyce-rankin/feed/ Stay informed with the latest breaking news, local stories, sports, business, weather, and community events from Durango, Southwest Colorado, and the Four Corners region. Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:03:37 -0600 en-us 30 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-our-schools-are-moving-in-the-right-direction/ Preliminary results from the 2018 assessments were revealed to the public in August. All of the school and district scores appear on the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) website. You can review all of the district and school results and... Fri, 14 Sep 2018 15:03:07 -0600 75D81DED-6117-2F2F-E053-0100007FA71F https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-whats-a-teacher-to-do/ du1-i-syn Social studies, science and physical education rounded out the curriculum. Then came monitoring the cafeteria, to accommodate students receiving free lunch, then free breakfast. Students, we determined, couldn’t learn if they were hungry. Now we have decided that there... Sat, 18 Aug 2018 04:44:03 -0600 73B3BA26-44E1-2A25-E053-0100007FAA77 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/education-legislation-up-for-2018/ Joyce Rankindu1-i-syn There were 71 education bills of interest to the State Board. Forty-five of these bills passed and 26 failed. Forty-one bills require rule making and implementation from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) or from the State Board.... Sat, 14 Jul 2018 04:52:55 -0600 70F44878-9E39-4DE5-E053-0100007F3305 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-colorados-charter-schools-outperformed-all-public-schools-nationally/ The test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress report, is known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” It uses a carefully designed sampling procedure that allows the assessment to be representative of the geographical, racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the... Thu, 10 May 2018 05:03:49 -0600 6BC9C436-DA94-01A1-E053-0100007FBDCD https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-civics-being-a-good-citizen-should-be-the-foundation-of-our-education-system/ Joyce Rankin Civics is the study of the rights and duties of citizenship. The United States Citizenship Civics Test is the test all immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship must pass. Unlike Colorado, some states are requiring that students pass the... Tue, 24 Apr 2018 05:03:13 -0600 6A88A664-5A91-303F-E053-0100007F4926 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-testing-is-just-around-the-corner/ Joyce Rankin In 2017, Iowa’s new testing program, Next Generation Iowa Assessments, was rolled out. Nearly all of the school districts in Iowa currently use this assessment tool. Many other states are also using Iowa’s tests. Over the years other... Tue, 27 Mar 2018 05:03:31 -0600 68598F68-FCBC-06BB-E053-0100007F02D9 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-teacher-to-class-can-you-hear-me-now/ Joyce Rankin Dan and I, along with a thousand other educators, attended an Excellence in Education conference last month where use of technology in the K-12 classroom was discussed. While there are already lessons available that introduce students, as early... Tue, 16 Jan 2018 05:03:30 -0700 62DA5429-1D96-4D97-E053-0100007F8C23 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-preparing-colorados-students-for-an-unforeseen-future/ Joyce Rankin Speakers and panelists from across the nation discussed directions education is taking and how our schools can prepare students for an ever-changing future. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, spoke about school choice and the role of parents in... Thu, 21 Dec 2017 08:10:36 -0700 60CDE78E-71CF-32A8-E053-0100007FDA30 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-watching-local-elections-observing-online-schools-and-superintendents-meeting/ Joyce Rankindu1-i-syn Since my last column, I’ve been busy watching elections, visiting an online school, attending the West Slope Superintendent’s meeting in Grand Junction and making new rules as I serve on the State Board of Education. First, the rule... Thu, 30 Nov 2017 05:04:10 -0700 5F25729A-2474-73EE-E053-0100007FDD8A https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-schools-turning-challenge-into-opportunity/ Joyce Rankindu1-i-syn These are just some of the challenges our public schools face. In September, I toured Southwest Colorado and found some superintendents creatively solving some of their district’s many challenges. We continue to hear about the need for higher... Sat, 21 Oct 2017 05:00:00 -0600 5BFDCCE0-BBB1-5E78-E053-0100007F315B https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-high-stakes-testing/ Joyce Rankin The SAT is a standardized test that is administered by the College Board, a nonprofit organization. The test is used by colleges and universities to determine college readiness. In 2016-17, the SAT was first introduced to Colorado 11th-grade... Sat, 16 Sep 2017 05:05:51 -0600 59403F81-B762-7C86-E053-0100007FAC5F https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-what-is-colorado-doing-for-its-high-achieving-students/ Joyce Rankin Me, too. It’s a frequently used phrase around the Colorado Department of Education. Recently, I was having a conversation with constituents when the following question was raised: “What are we doing for our high-achieving students?” Well, it’s complicated.... Sat, 12 Aug 2017 05:03:17 -0600 567E7A7A-0B4C-1D8F-E053-0100007F88A1 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-are-education-policies-helping-or-hindering-student-and-teacher-success/ du1-i-syn In 2008-2009, the Colorado legislature added new tests in order to more effectively align standards with accountability. Concerns of parents, teachers and students caused legislators and educators to reexamine the amount of time devoted to testing. Last year the... Tue, 11 Jul 2017 05:03:15 -0600 53FF9A23-1157-23B3-E053-0100007F4A9A https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-legislation-ready-to-be-implemented/ Joyce Rankindu1-i-syn SB17-267 is titled the “Sustainability of Rural Colorado (Act).” Among other things, this bill sets aside $30M to be used for rural and small rural school districts. HB17-1375 specifies that charter schools will share in the per-pupil revenue... Sat, 17 Jun 2017 05:03:24 -0600 521D0DD4-38A3-636B-E053-0100007FA064 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/rankin-the-legislative-session-and-the-accountability-clock/ du1-i-syn Statute holds state school districts and public schools accountable on “statewide performance indicators.” In other words, accountability. It recognizes and rewards areas of success, while also identifying and compelling change for areas that need to improve. The board must... Tue, 16 May 2017 05:02:12 -0600 4F93C1FF-D632-53E2-E053-0100007FFD1C https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/students-and-school-districts-benefit-from-testing/ du1-i-syn Colorado’s measurement of student progress is called Colorado Measures of Academic Success or CMAS. These tests will be given between April 10 and April 28, and include math, English language arts, science and social studies. CMAS encompasses the Colorado-developed... Thu, 13 Apr 2017 05:02:11 -0600 4CFC0E2E-F6CB-671F-E053-0100007F5FFE https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/columnists/this-is-what-school-choice-looks-like/ Rankindu1-i-syn Charter schools are public schools that are founded by parents, teachers or community members. They provide alternative educational programs that differ from traditional public schools. Colorado charter schools operate by way of a contract (charter) that has been authorized... Sat, 18 Mar 2017 15:04:42 -0600 4B0630FB-4237-602C-E053-0100007F95C8