School and District Accreditation
The
Colorado Department of Education and school districts throughout the
state are in the midst of sweeping changes in the manner by which the
state accredits districts and districts accredit schools. On July 1,
1998, House Bill 98-1267 took effect, establishing a system of
accountability called educational accreditation. The Colorado State
Board of Education adopted the original Accreditation Rules based on
House Bill 98-1267 in 1999. In May 2008, the State Board substantially revised the rules for administration of accreditation to:
- Emphasize CDE service and support focused on student results
- Include measures of student growth and post-secondary readiness
- Link greater student progress to more district autonomy through tiered CDE reviews
- Ensure accreditation decisions are defensible and comparable across the state
- Eliminate duplicative paperwork through a streamlined contract
- Provide districts with useful pre-populated data tables
- Institute new accreditation categories
The resources below provide information on the accreditation rules and contract, resources on the measurement of student growth under the rule, as well as accreditation process and history.
Accreditation Resources
- Annual District Education Improvement Plan Rubric (PDF) - Updated 2/20/09
- Annual Report Guidance - 10/14/09
- SMART Goal Examples (DOC) - 10/01/08
- Accreditation Rules 1 CCR 301-1 (PDF) 06-11-08
- Accreditation Flowchart
Growth Model Information
- Information on the Colorado Growth Model can be found at www.cde.state.co.us/growthmodel.asp.