Cutting Social Studies Tests Means Less Accountability For Schools

By Ari Armstrong | Commentary, Complete Colorado

If “public education is the bedrock of Colorado’s democracy,” as Democratic sponsors declare in the TABOR-busting Senate Bill 26-135, then why do lawmakers want to cut social-studies testing from two grades to one? Someone might conclude that not even the legislators believe the slop they’re slinging on behalf of the teachers’ unions.

A look at social-studies testing

Given how abysmally most Colorado students perform on the social studies portion of the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, maybe it’s no wonder that some legislators want to sweep the evidence of underperforming public schools under the rug.

If you look at CMAS results by year, you’ll find that the last publicly-released data for social studies are from 2019. Huh. You’d think that assessment of knowledge obviously relevant to a functional republic would be taken a little more seriously.

Regardless, you will find that 23.9% of fourth graders and 17.9% of seventh graders who took the test “met or exceeded expectations.” So try not to laugh hysterically or sob as you recall that “public education is the bedrock of Colorado’s democracy.”

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