General Assessment Information for Parents

About

Meaningful and relevant tests work hand-in-hand with rigorous academic standards. The state’s summative tests are called the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), which measure students’ mastery of the standards and the complex thinking and other critical skills students need to be successful in school and in life.

2022 State Tests

In spring 2022, third- through eighth-graders in Colorado will take the CMAS tests, which are aligned to the Colorado Academic Standards. Colorado's ninth- and 10th-graders will take the PSAT and 11th-graders will take the SAT (11th-graders also take CMAS science). The state-level results for these tests are expected to be made available in August 2022. Individual student reports are typically available to districts in July after each administration. Click here for tentative testing dates.

2021 CMAS Score Reports

Last spring, Colorado's third- through eighth-graders took the CMAS tests, which are aligned to the Colorado Academic Standards. Given the challenges created by COVID, the state legislature and U.S. Department of Education reduced the number of tests students were required to take in spring 2021. Students were only required to take one test in either English language arts (ELA) or math, depending on their grade, but parents could choose to have children take both tests if they wanted to see how their children were progressing in both subject areas. Students in grades three, five, and seven took ELA; students in grades four, six, and eight took math; and students in grade eight also took science. Colorado's ninth- and 10th-graders took the PSAT and 11th-graders took the SAT. The state-level results for these tests are expected to be released in August 2021. Resources to help parents better understand what the test results mean and how they can be used to support their student's academic success are linked in the following section.

What to expect for the 2022 state assessments

State Tests - Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS)
- CMAS - What to expect for the 2021-22 school year
  English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)
- Frequently asked questions about CMAS
  English | Spanish (PDF)
Purpose and Value of State Assessments (PDF)

PSAT & SAT in Colorado

Before taking the test

What you need to know on test day
- PSAT (PDF) | SAT (PDF)

CMAS 2017-18 School Year ICON

CMAS Score Reports

Find assessment results for your child's school or district
Results for all 178 school districts and approximately 1,800 schools can be found on CDE's Colorado Measures of Academic Success webpage.
Parent's Guide to Understanding the English Language Arts and Math Score Reports
- Parent's Guide - English (PDF)
- Parent's Guide - Spanish (PDF)
How to use the test results to support your student
- English (PDF)
- Spanish (PDF)
Sample Score Report
- English Language Arts Sample Score Report Grade 3
  English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)
- Math Sample Score Report Grade 6
  English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)
- Science Sample Score Report Grade 8
  English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)
- Spanish Performance Level Descriptors - CMAS English language arts and Math
School and district accountability, state assessments (PDF)