Index: Education
Education - K-12
Quick Data Links
What's New (updated 8/1/07)
20% of Poudre School District children are in need of transportation to safe activities when they are not in school, according to this new report from the Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County [pdf]. (May 2007)
20% of Poudre School District children are in need of transportation to safe activities when they are not in school, according to this new report from the Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County [pdf]. (May 2007)
What We Measured:
- Disciplinary Actions
- Enrollment - Public Schools
- Enrollment - Ethnicity
- Enrollment - Public, Home-Based & Non-Public Schools
- Enrollment - Special Education
- Funding Per Pupil
- Pupil/Teacher Ratio
- Students Eligible for Free/Reduced School Lunch
- Teachers - Ethnicity & Gender
- Teachers - Salary
Achievement
- ACT Scores
- CSAP scores
- Dropout Rates
- High School Graduation Rates (by School District, Ethnicity, & Gender)
Highlights:
- In Larimer County School Districts, student suspensions increased 7% from 2003 to 2004. Thompson School District had the largest percentage of expulsions (1.4% or 30 Students) followed by Poudre (1.1% or 21 students) and Park (0.3% or 1 student) School Districts. Hispanic females continued to appear over represented in school disciplinary actions. They were involved in 21.5% of disciplinary actions; in comparison Hispanics represented 14.2% of the total female enrollment in 2004. (Disciplinary Actions)
- Larimer County public school enrollment increased by 2% from 2003-04 to 2007-08. Park School District enrollment fell by 11.4% from 2003-04 to 2007-08, which was an actual drop of 155 students. (Enrollment - Public Schools)
- From 2001 to 2007, Hispanic student enrollment in LarimerCountyschool districts increased by 44%. In comparison, total enrollment in LarimerCountypublic schools only increased 3.7%. (Enrollment - Ethnicity)
- In 2007, the majority of PK-12 students in Larimer County were enrolled in public schools (91.4%), followed by non-public school enrollment (7.1%) and Home-based schooling (1.5%). (Enrollment - Public, Home-Based & Non-Public Schools)
- In 2007, special education students comprised almost 10.9% of the total student enrollment in Larimer County public schools. (Enrollment - Special Education)
- In Larimer County public schools, funding per pupil increased slightly but steadily from 2001 to 2007. In 2001, Amendment 23 required that the State legislature increase the base per pupil funding annually by inflation plus one percent. (Funding Per Pupil)
- In 2005, the average pupil/teacher ratio in the Larimer County School Districts increased slightly from 15.8 pupils per teacher in 2004 to 16.9. (Student/Teacher Ratios)
- From 2003 to 2007, Larimer County’s three school districts experienced about a 2% increase in the number of students qualifying for free and reduced lunches. Statewide, over the same time period, eligibility grew by about 4%. (Students Eligible for Free/Reduced School Lunch)
- For school year 2005-06, the percentages of students from each race/ethnic group, with the exception of White (not Hispanic), were higher than those of teachers. White (not Hispanic) teachers were over-represented while Hispanic teachers were under-represented in relation to the number of students from each group. (Teachers - Ethnicity & Gender)
- Between 2000-01 and 2006-07 school years, average salaries in Park School District had the highest percentage increase (32%) followed by Thompson (15%) and Poudre (14%). (Teachers Salary)
Achievement
- In general, from 2003 to 2007, Larimer County school districts had higher ACT scores than the Colorado average. (ACT Scores)
- In 2006, Larimer County School Districts continued to register higher than the State in percentages of students scoring in the 'Proficient and Advanced'* category, with the exceptions of 6th and 7th grade writing which were lower. (CSAP Scores)
- During the school year 2003-04, the Colorado Department of Education implemented a more accurate student data collection system. As a result, in 2004 all Larimer County Districts had a marked increase in dropout rates, but rates began to decline the following year. In 2007, Hispanic students comprised nearly 13% of the student population in Larimer County; however, 29% of students dropping out that year were Hispanic. (Dropout Rates)
- In 2007, Park School District was the only district to have an increase in the percentage of graduating Hispanic students. Larimer County School Districts had higher graduation rates than the state average from 1998 to 2007. (High School Graduation Rates)
Related Studies:
- Measuring Up 2006 - (September 2006) A report produced by the National Center for Public Policy & Higher Education grades all 50 states in areas of performance related to higher education.
- Larimer County's 2000-2005 School Accountability Reports are available in a searchable database at the Colorado Department of Education.
- Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2003 offers international comparisons of fourth and eighth grade performances in mathematics and science. (National Center for Education Statistics, December 2004)
- The Teachability Index: Can Disadvantaged Students Learn? - (September 2004-Manhattan Institute) This working paper calculates three indexes of state educational achievement: student 'teachability', school performance, and school efficiency, or, which states get the best results for their education dollars.
- Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2003 - this collaborative report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics examines crime occurring in schools and on the way to and from school. It presents data from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population, using a comprehensive array of sources.
- Colorado State University Research and Development Center for the Advancement of Student Learning - this site posts studies on topics related to improving the quality of education.
- Poudre School District (PSD) Annual Accountability Reports - information about district-wide student achievement, graduation requirements and rates, test scores, and individual schools within the district.
- Thompson School District Strategic Plan 2001 - 2007 [pdf]
Related issues within Compass:
- Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs - Youth
- Child Abuse
- Children in Families - Single & Two Parent
- Children's Health
- Early Childhood Education
- Students Eligible for Reduced/Free School Lunch
- Grandparents as Caregivers
- Juvenile Arrests
- Juveniles on Probation
- Language Spoken at Home
- Mental Health
- Poverty - Children
- Population by Age
Additional Resources:
- MarcoPolo contains resources for teachers and trainers, and includes a Colorado-specific site, and useful calendar with historical events.
- Colorado Department of Education
- Colorado State University Department of Education
- Estes Park School District
- Federation for Children with Special Needs
- Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County (HCC) - is a broad-based coalition of nonprofit, business, government and citizen leaders focused on improving the health and well-being of Larimer County residents.
- National Center for Education Statistics
- National Center for Learning Disabilities
- Poudre School District
- Thompson School District