colorado academic standards online

colorado academic standards online

Exploring the Implementation and Impact of Colorado Academic Standards in Online Education

1. Introduction to Colorado Academic Standards

The Colorado Department of Education describes the Colorado Academic Standards as “the expectations of what students need to know, understand, and be able to do at various points in their Kindergarten through 12th Grade education” (CDE, n.d.). According to the department, the standards are “outcomes-based,” “clear, concise, and high,” “developed in a spiraling fashion,” “relevant to the world in which students live,” and were crafted with input from Colorado educators in order to support the success of Colorado’s students, align post-secondary education aspirations with workforce expectations, and build the state’s nation-leading 21st-century economy (CDE, n.d.). School districts were tasked with implementing curriculum and instructional strategies within an outcomes-based system to ensure eligible students’ attainment of all academic standards, including district-chosen online programs of study. The intent was to give all Colorado students an equal opportunity to achieve the standards, hence addressing achievement gaps traditionally seen among at-risk students in the brick-and-mortar setting.

As the frequency with which K-12 students enroll in online courses grows, so too does the need to explore the implementation of Colorado Academic Standards within online education. Students substitute courses delivered online for or supplement their traditional school setting with online courses in order to reach a variety of needs, including the following: working at an accelerated pace to earn that elusive “post-secondary-ready” designation, staying on track for graduation when course conflicts arise, investigating potential career pathways while completing other required coursework, and enrolling in academic courses offered at higher levels than are available in their local schools, to name a few. Because students who choose to pursue or explore career pathways offered in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can do so through Colorado’s online courses, when taking the online version, like when taking the on-site version, “These courses must incorporate comprehensive, rigorous, and diverse content appropriate to the discipline, be of high academic quality and carefully monitored by educators.”

2. Integration of Colorado Academic Standards in Online Education

In alignment with the trend in online education to parallel school programs and take direction from them, the governing state of an online school specifies that their academic standards guide instruction. The Colorado Online Learning Act of 2007 specifies the minimum standards of educational programming, including student content and performance expectations necessary for students participating in approved online programs to earn diplomas or graduate equivalency credentials. As content and performance standards of the state, the Colorado Academic Standards, 21st century skills, and Personal Financial Literacy standards are required in compliance with No Child Left Behind, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the English Language Proficiency Act, and the Workforce Investment Act.

The Colorado State Board of Education reaffirmed the highly effective standards of the original 1993 model content standards. Inevitable alterations occurred due to new concepts, terminology, and technologies and technological proficiency that emerged since the original standards. In 2008 through 2009, the revised standards of extended evidence outcomes for Elementary, Middle, High School, DPI detailed reference placement, model performance level descriptor participation and gifted endorsement, in concurrent implementation, required alignment and assessment, have been partially or fully implemented inadequately, or not. The effective standards of the original 1993 model content standards kernel implemented successfully at most Colorado Online School partners were endorsed as critical, essential, strong, but not exclusive. Furthermore, the 2009 Science, Social Studies, English, Mathematics, Workplace Readiness, Personal Financial Literacy, and 21st-century skills standards, of majority, specifically implemented for all grade levels K-12, not were singularly implemented.

3. Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning

Assessment is defined as “formal and informal processes that are used to collect data, evaluate the worth of the data, and provide results that are used to demonstrate the learning of each student,” and is outlined in the standards and benchmarks for the online environment as “use a variety of assessment and evaluation strategies,” “provide a full range of assessment methods,” and “align assessments, evidence, and reflection.” There are a variety of assessment tools that online educators use to monitor the progress and learning of their students. These include quizzes, essays, reviews, tests, and collateral peer reviews.

For most teachers working in the online environment, one of the key aspects of teaching and learning that is challenging to many (and the most frequently asked question) is assessment. Even though many secondary online educators come from the brick and mortar world of education and have a variety of assessments at their grasp, they feel the transition to the online environment where materials and communication may not occur at the same time is a big challenge. They are used to in-person monitoring, and utilizing tools to enhance the learning/assessment process is not something any formal training has been given for most.

4. Professional Development and Support for Educators

Oh, what a feeling! The release of the draft digital distance learning guidelines. What a fun two days in August, working with educators, learning about concerns and excitement, and greatest expectations for these guidelines. Guidelines for maintaining the momentum of the online learning movement. Hopefully, the ideas and information sketched out here will provide a way to visualize how work on these guidelines can be integrated with the other work information related to professional development support for teachers and staff, so that our online community around the state can continue to support and enhance the learning of students, so they can make sense of what at times looks to be a very dangerous place. As I have participated in case study work in Colorado and worked closely, in particular, with the view of the local Colorado Online Education Initiative Task Force, the conclusion has become clearer and clearer that key enablers, that which support the very constructive implementations of the outcomes and visions are going to be the professional development support available to students, teachers, and administrators working to set high standards.

Provide Free and Required Professional Development for Teachers of Online Learning: Develop high-quality and standards-based training and professional preparation for professional educators who plan to teach in an online environment. While we are currently focused on what teachers need to know and be able to do to teach online, we cannot forget that school administrators have to understand what it means to maintain a quality online program and to develop and support the teachers and support staff (including technology support staff) need to make that quality happen. This may entail modifying administrative licensing expectations and staff professional development direction. Once teachers are prepared to teach online, technology-related performance standards must be established and monitored for all persons serving in this capacity, no matter their original and starting point with technology. All professional educators provided with the principal jurisdiction will equip to teach online learners in an online environment. This professional development provided free to educators providing services in an online learning environment. All professional educators providing services in an online environment meet performance standards equivalent with those for educators providing services in a physical classroom, without exception for online educators who are able to maintain this professional standard. All professional education providing services in an online learning environment will complete a highly developed and comprehensive 35 contact hours of professional development providing by the principal jurisdiction, as a condition of continued employment following the first year providing services in an online learning environment. Note. Educational staff teaching online are expected to become and remain certified in their content area as well as in technology literacy standards.

5. Conclusion and Future Directions

The study presents an initial account of how online schools in Colorado are implementing CAS in their programs and to what effect. In addition to sharing insights on the specific content and model prioritization patterns, the study identifies several implementation areas that call for further exploration and discussion. This concludes the study that informs the implementation and impact of Colorado Academic Standards in online education. In using a multi-method approach, it identifies that online schools are implementing CAS in their programs by infusing the standards into the curriculum, instruction, and testing components of the entire online learning model to deliver better quality K-12 education.

Four themes describe the findings, which include how online schools are interfacing with the content, the usage traits of the standards, the consequences of the standards, and the main enablers and constraints of the implementation process. By exploring the teachers’ perspectives, the study adds a sense of the context and promises the findings a unique edge. The support and customization were reflected in what the schools taught and how they engaged with these topics. Although intense, customization was not necessarily transformational, as other factors appeared to be impacting these processes. The study did not focus on how the funding was specifically spent but “what” the students learned, “how” they learned offline, online, or both, and supporting technologies.