Proposed Changes to Accountability System Could Advance High School, Postsecondary, & Workforce Readiness Efforts

In 2023, the legislature created the Accountability, Accreditation, Student Performance, and Resource Inequity Task Force—known by some as the 1241 Task Force—to study Colorado’s academic opportunities, inequities, promising practices in schools, and improvements to the accountability and accreditation system.

After a 15-month-long process, 26 stakeholders from around the state published a report last week putting forth recommendations to refine the state’s education system to better address student performance, resource inequities, and overall school accountability.

Colorado Succeeds believes that to better prepare students for postsecondary education and career success, we need a system that effectively tracks and measures the activities that support their progress toward these goals.

The proposed measures to modernize the Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness (PWR) Accountability indicators include:

• Creating a new sub-indicator to measure “Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Before Graduation.” This indicator would measure what happens IN high school, such as:
  • Passing grades in concurrent enrollment and CTE courses aligned with GT pathways; and AP and IB courses
  • Industry-recognized credentials
  • Work-based learning experiences
• Renaming the “Matriculation” sub-indicator to “Postsecondary Progression” to only reflect what happens after a traditional high school experience. The sub-indicator will continue to include matriculation into two- and four-year degree programs, fifth and sixth-year high school programs that gain college credit, such as ASCENT, P-TECH, and T-REP, Career and Technical Education Programs, and will add work-based learning experiences, such as apprenticeships, which happen after high school graduation.
• Removing the SAT from the PWR indicator and only include it in the “Academic” and “Growth” indicators.

These updates would be a powerful step toward ensuring that Colorado’s high school graduates are prepared for success in college, careers, and beyond. By focusing on metrics that truly reflect students’ readiness—such as meaningful college credits, industry-recognized credentials, and work-based learning experiences—Colorado is setting a clear expectation for schools and districts.

Related to this work, the 1215 Task Force, established to recommend policies and strategies for equitable, sustainable education and career pathways statewide, highlighted the K-12 accountability system as essential for driving behavior change in high school and suggested a proposal to revise the PWR indicator. Their recommendation then moved to the 1241 Task Force for further review, which built on it with more stakeholder input. We believe that the recommendations made in the 1241 Task Force report will recognize the work that high schools should be doing to support students toward postsecondary success.

Our work through the Homegrown Talent Initiative has proved that schools and districts can become champions for systemic change, serve as proof points for high-quality, career-connected learning, and improve student outcomes. These updates would recognize the amazing work already happening around the state and incentivize more schools to expand programs that provide real-world learning experiences, build industry connections, and gain meaningful college credits attainable during high school.

Colorado Succeeds is committed to seeing this work through in partnership with members of the Task Force, the Colorado General Assembly, and other stakeholders. Together, we will strengthen policy and practice, equipping every Colorado student with a pathway to meaningful career and educational opportunities. We thank the task force members and the Department of Education for their important work in support of Colorado’s students.