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Data Briefs

A graphic showing Colorado teacher turnover by county, 2023-24.

Nowhere to live, no one to teach — the rural teaching dilemma by the numbers

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Students across rural Colorado have been back in school for a few weeks now. In far too many of their classrooms, they were greeted by a brand-new teacher. In some, they’ll find a rotating substitute, a class merged into one down the hall, or simply no permanent teacher at all, because the position was never filled. While not a perfect proxy for teacher effectiveness, the data that is available on turnover, vacancies, and certifications are the best available proxies we have in Colorado.

Nowhere to live, no one to teach — the rural teaching dilemma by the numbers Read More »

A deep dive into Denver’s test score results: Equity gaps widen, autonomy and choice show stronger outcomes for historically underserved students

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The release of new annual state testing data is always accompanied by a blizzard of slide decks, and reports, an no small amount of spin. Here is an in-depth, straightforward look at how Denver Public Schools performed, disaggregated by income, race and ethnicity, and school governance model.

A deep dive into Denver’s test score results: Equity gaps widen, autonomy and choice show stronger outcomes for historically underserved students Read More »

A bar chart titled, "The preparation gap and the college-going gap track each other."

Colorado and Denver’s low-income students aren’t ready for college. A few schools prove it doesn’t have to be that way.

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DSST prepares its Hispanic, Black, and low-income students for college-level math at two to three times the district rate. Its low-income readiness in 2025 was 39.5%, about 2.6 times the state’s rate for the same students. Much of what makes Denver look better than the state turns out to be concentrated in a single charter school network.

Colorado and Denver’s low-income students aren’t ready for college. A few schools prove it doesn’t have to be that way. Read More »

A photo of a large pipe in the middle of a desert. The end of the pipe is littered with tumbleweeds, and there is sludge coming out of it.

The big-district superintendent pipeline has run dry. What can school boards do?

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Not long ago, the right superintendent, especially a non-traditional one, could land on the cover of Time, get regular New York Times coverage, and pull in serious money from Gates, Walton, Broad and other foundations to remake a district. That’s a different world than the one Jeffco, Cherry Creek and Denver are hiring into right now.

The big-district superintendent pipeline has run dry. What can school boards do? Read More »