The Colorado Department of Education

Offices | Staff Contacts | Colorado.gov

RISE Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions:

  1. What is RISE?

RISE [Relevant Information to Strengthen Education] is Colorado’s initiative to provide an education information system that meets the student performance and education delivery expectations of our education reform statutes and the global marketplace.  RISE is funded by state, federal and philanthropic resources and is being led and executed by the Colorado Department of Education in partnership with multiple collaborative partners including the Governor’s Office of Information Technology.  RISE is an instructional improvement system that will provide secure and immediate information about students, educators and schools to improve instruction and support student success from preschool to career.  RISE includes four strategic objectives: Capture, Link, Provide and Perform.

  1. How does this work / how do we implement it?

First, we capture important information about every student and educator in Colorado. For students, this might be educational history including early educational background, learning strengths and areas needing more attention, test scores, grades, achievements and more. For educators, this includes educator characteristics, preparation and development.

Next, we link data and digital content about students and educators with records from relevant state agencies (Dept of Higher Ed, Dept of Labor, etc.) using a state-of-the art data system. One example of how this will work is that the system can illustrate if a child benefits more when provided early childhood education as compared to peers who don’t. 

 Then, we provide timely, student-focused information to parents, students, educators, policymakers and researchers through the SchoolView portal.  And lastly, we will use the data to drive increased student performance through personalized instructional practices, innovative learning programs and dynamic professional development. 

  1. How will this information be used?

There are a few ways this data will be used. First, a student’s information will follow her as she progresses through the school system. If she moves to a new district, her transcript will become immediately accessible, so her teachers can prepare and help her transition smoothly. Today, it can take weeks for this information to catch up to a student who moves schools.  Second, this data will help us to conduct research on best practices and innovate on tools and applications to support teaching and learning. We will be able to identify what is working well and where we should focus resources to support students.  Having information that researchers can use to identify areas of success will help us to improve professional educational practices and public policy.  The bottom line is that this information will be used to make better and more informed decisions about students and improve education services and support.

  1. How much does this initiative cost and who pays for it?

This initiative is being supported with state, federal and philanthropic funding.  A major source of funding is from a $17.4 million Federal grant, which was awarded to the state of Colorado in July 2012 through the Federal State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Grant Program, following a previous SLDS grant.  Colorado is one of only a few states that have won two of these grants.  Funding for Race to the Top, SchoolView and educator effectiveness also contribute to RISE.   Link to state or federal websites

  1. There is so much change taking place in the Colorado education system.  Why should we support this initiative?

This initiative is part of a broader effort to dramatically improve public education and move to a next-generation model in Colorado that began with CAP4K (SB 212), Education Accountability Act of 200X (SB 163), and Educator Effectiveness (SB 191).  Our ability to carry out these reforms in a manner that truly benefits students and educators depends on effective education information management.  Here are a few notable facts about where we are today:

  • Student achievement trends in Colorado have remained relatively flat and are characterized by achievement and participation gaps based on race/ethnicity and income.

  • Of elementary students that score below proficient in reading, writing and math, only a small percent catch up by high school.

  • Nearly 16,000 students drop out of high school in Colorado.  Less than half of the black, Latino and American Indian students who start high school in Colorado actually finish.

  • Districts comply with 125 data collections annually, and currently the process is cumbersome, redundant, time consuming, and changes yearly due to state and federal changes.

  • Data is typically captured only once per year making it difficult to identify issues with a student in a timely manner. 

  • Students educational data from preschool through grade 20 (P-20) is not linked and cannot be accessed and there is not complete information to inform policy questions, improved instruction or research trends for legislation.

  • Existing data systems make it hard to provide timely and differentiated instruction and programs at the individual level. We know that a “one-size-fits-all” approach no longer works in education.

RISE is a program that sets a critical foundation for collecting, connecting, tracking, and analyzing data that will give us opportunities to improve public policy and ultimately improve education in Colorado.

  1. How can you ensure that this program will continue to thrive and support education once you have exhausted the Federal grant?

We take sustainability very seriously.  Sustainability is a question that is addressed before any system or technology component is put in place.  The Colorado Department of Education, working in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Information Technology, has taken some significant steps to ensure that we are laying a lasting foundation for this program. We are working with internal teams from various departments as well as consulting experts to create a roadmap for success.  We will be implementing the program over the next 18 months and have identified program champions internally who will see the project through completion and evolution for years to come.

Extensive training for the existing maintenance resources will be provided, as will training for educational staff in how to use the new tools and absorb what the data is saying to them.   CDE has invested in change management experts to assist all stakeholders to understand the changes involved.  These combined efforts provide an environment that is open to change, so our educational staff and maintenance community can keep the program continuously improving into the future.

  1. How does Schoolview tie into this program? Isn’t it also designed to provide student and educator data to important audiences?

SchoolView is a critical part of the RISE Provide & Perform strategic objectives. SchoolView provides access to award-winning data analytics and visualizations to support a common understanding of the academic growth rates and levels of academic attainment among Colorado’s students, schools, districts, and the state as a whole.  SchoolView also provides a portal to all performance information that the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is responsible for reporting to the public. Through SchoolView, CDE strives to PROVIDE the best possible feedback and access to digital content that makes teachers' classrooms and academic content more engaging and successful with students and parents (PERFORM).

Teacher Questions:

  1. How is this going to change my job? 

RISE will support educator’s professional practice, providing information and tools that teachers need to get the results our education policies expect.  This project will take several years to implement and fully realize its potential at the classroom level.  Our long term goal is to provide you with information and applications that will help you personalize learning and your professional development based upon student needs and outcomes. This initiative will provide easier access to all data through improved and more user-friendly tools.  It will improve the quality of all data provided back to teachers.  Having access to this information and knowing where students’ strengths and challenges exist in addition to what styles of teaching they respond well to will help improve your performance and success in the classroom.

  1. I have 30+ students, how can I possibly personalize learning for each student when my student list is so overwhelming?

Educators are not going to be expected to personalize learning for every student, but what this will do is provide you with more timely information about your students to assist with your own decision-making in the classroom.  Teachers and administrators can access information that informs their instructional methods, so they can better teach to each individual student’s needs.  You will be able to determine what’s working and what is not, and be able to enhance or modify your teaching approaches in a timely basis to impact student learning. 

  1. Will this data collection have any relationship to job cuts?

No. No job cuts are planned as a result of the RISE program. This will simply create short cuts and efficiencies for administrators in terms of accessing student information.

  1. When will we actually get access to student data?

Today, educators and administrators have access to student data through a variety of local and state systems that don’t integrate well with one another.  RISE will provide information to educators, administrators and researchers that has been linked across state agencies and programs, so the data will be richer.  RISE will provide information that is already available, but the information will be more useful, engaging and more easily accessed.  We are in the initial stages of building this integrated data system. We are working to connect you to this “real time” information in the next two years.

  1. How will this help teachers with professional development?

Thanks to the gathering of information and subsequent research and analysis, educators will be able to better understand which instructional approaches have the greatest impact on student achievement.  Professional development opportunities can become better targeted and personalized based on student and professional needs and may stem from identifying what educational practices are having the most positive effect in classrooms.

Districts, Principals, and other Administrators:

  1. How is this going to change my job? 

RISE will make data collection and access more efficient and effective for administrators. It will slightly change the jobs of administrators who previously had to call in student records and receive them through snail mail.  Administrators will now be able to access student records through secure electronic sharing.  You will have much faster access to student information and transcripts. This will ultimately help you to integrate new students more effectively. You will be able to determine how effective you are in acclimating new teachers and getting them operating with confidence quickly.

Parent Questions:

  1. If you are collecting information about student performance and behavior, do students run a risk that they will be labeled permanently with negative stereotypes (trouble maker, slow etc..)?

We absolutely understand this concern, and this is not at all the intention. Today, students receive report cards and have student notes that are shared as a student progresses through her education. RISE simply enhances the quality and value of data to support student learning, parent engagement and school improvement.  Some student data will continue to be gathered annually; however, progress data may be updated much more often.  And, because we will be collecting data through world class technologies, the data will be entered in a more timely fashion – which is much more relevant than the former method of notes on paper. If a student is progressing and improving then those achievements will be noted immediately, so it is actually less likely that a student will be labeled negatively.

 


Questions? Feedback? Email us at rise_questions@cde.state.co.us.