The Colorado Department of Education

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Colorado Basic Literacy Act

The Colorado Basic Literacy Act was enacted in 1997 by the Colorado General Assembly to ensure that all students by the third grade have the literacy skills essential for success in school and life. CBLA calls for local school districts to identify students who are reading below grade level and give them the necessary reading interventions.

Revision to Rules for Administration: Call for Feedback

In December 2010, the Colorado Department of Education recommended that the rules for administering the Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA) be revised to ensure alignment with the expectations outlined in the Colorado Academic Standards.

In 2007, the State Board of Education approved three assessment instruments from which districts may choose for annual reporting of the Colorado Basic Literacy Act for grades K-3. At that time, the State Board agreed to revisit the assessment choices after three years of data had been collected and after an evaluation of the validity and reliability of the approved assessments as early indicators of reading achievement.

On March 7, 2012, the Colorado State Board of Education will conduct a Rulemaking Hearing to establish the new rules regarding the administration of CBLA including approved literacy assessments. Public comment will be invited.

In April 2012, the State Board will simultaneously consider adopting updated CBLA rules and approve new assessment tools if necessary. The rules identify the standards and criteria for the assessment of literacy in grades K-3.

At this time, CDE is seeking feedback on the revised draft CBLA rules that were presented to the State Board on January 11, 2012. The documents may be viewed using the links below. All comments should be submitted to state.board@cde.state.co.us with a copy to markel_c@cde.state.co.us or by mail to the State Board Office, 201 E. Colfax Ave., Room 506, Denver, CO 80203-1087.

CDE will also be holding three public feedback meetings and two webinars to provide information on the proposed rule changes and status of CBLA assessment tools in relation to school readiness.

Public Meetings:

Thursday, February 16, 5:30-7:00
Bear Valley Public Library
5171 W. Dartmouth Ave
Denver, CO 80236

Wednesday, February 22, 5:30-7:00
Pueblo West Public Library
298 S. Joe Martinez Blvd.
Pueblo West, CO 81007

Wednesday, February 29, 5:30 – 7:00
Grand Junction Art Center
1803 North 7th Street
Grand Junction, CO 81501

Registration for the public feedback sessions can be submitted at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8SZBBSH

Webinars:

Friday, February 17, 3:30-4:00 pm
Tuesday, February 21, 9:00-9:30 am

To participate in the webinars, please follow this link: http://connect.enetcolorado.org/r4odg0kkmaj/

The webinar meeting rooms will open 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the webinar.

Finally, the department will provide an update on assessments required by CBLA in relation to progress toward school readiness assessment at the State Board meeting on February 8th. To access the meeting agenda and live audio, please go to:
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeboard/Meeting_Agendas_and_Audio.htm

 

General CBLA Information

End of Year Scoring and Coding Information Reference Information