Resources for Parents

State Assessments

Below is a list of the required State Assessments that will be administered in the 2025-2026 school year.  For more detailed information on specific assessments, click here.  

CMAS (Reading and Math)
Grade:  3-8
Testing Window:  April 6-24, 2026
Purpose:  Provide a picture of student performance to schools, districts, teachers, parents and the community on how students are progressing academically.

CMAS (Science)
Grades: 5 and 8
Testing Window:  April 6-24, 2026

Grade:  11 (Science Only)
Testing Date:  April 16, 2026 (Makeup April 23-24, 2026)
Purpose:  Provide a picture of student performance to schools, districts, teachers, parents and the community on how students are progressing academically.  

CMAS (Social Studies)
Grades: 4 and 7 at Selected Schools
Testing Window:  April 6-24, 2026
Purpose:  Provide a picture of student performance to schools, districts, teachers, parents and the community on how students are progressing academically.  

PSAT/CoPSAT (Colorado PSAT)
Grade:  9
Testing Date:  April 16, 2026 (Makeup April 17-24, 2026)
Purpose:  Determine post secondary readiness.

PSAT/CoPSAT (Colorado PSAT)
Grade: 10
Testing Date:  April 15, 2026 (Makeup April 17-24, 2026)
Purpose:  Determine post secondary readiness.  

SAT/CoSAT (Colorado SAT)
Grade:  11
Testing Date:  April 15, 2026 (Makeup April 17-24, 2026)  
Purpose:  Determine post secondary readiness.

Alternate CMAS CoAlt
Grade:  4-8 and 11 (Students with significant cognitive disabilities)
Testing Window:  April 6-24, 2026
Purpose:  Provide a performance level at which students with significant cognitive disabilities meet the Colorado Academic Standards in Science and Social Studies.

Alternate DLM/Kite
Grade:  3-11 (Students with significant cognitive disabilities)
Testing Window:  April 6-24, 2026
Purpose:  Alternate for CMAS, PSAT/SAT and will provide a common measure of academic achievement for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

WIDA ACCESS
Grade:  Kindergarten-12 (Multilingual Learners)
Testing Window:  January 12-February 13, 2026
Purpose:  Assesses English language proficiency in listening, reading, speaking and writing

Kindergarten Readiness
Grade:  Kindergarten
Testing Window:  Within the first 60 calendar days of school
Purpose:  Required by CDE.  Used by Kindergarten teachers to determine what their students know, what they can do and how that relates to important objectives for development and learning.

District Assessments 

Below is a list of the District Assessments that will be administered in the 2024-2025 school year.  For more detailed information on specific assessments, click here

Star Assessment
Grade:  Kindergarten-10
Testing Window:  Beginning of Year:  August 18-August 29, 2025    Mid-Year:  December 8, 2025-December 19, 2025     End of Year:  April 27-May 8, 2026
Purpose:  To effectively track progress towards CCSD's priority of instructional excellence.  The beginning of year assessment also fulfills the Colorado READ Act requirements for Kindergarten through 3rd Grade.  

CogAT
Grade:  2 and 6
Testing Window:  September 1-October 3, 2025
Purpose:  Part of a Body of Evidence (BOE) to determine if students qualify for Gifted & Talented Services

Iowa
Grade:  2 and 6
Testing Window:  September 15-November 14, 2025
Purpose:  Part of a Body of Evidence (BOE) to determine if students qualify for Gifted & Talented Services.  For students who score 90% or higher on the CogAT.  These assessments measure achievement in several important content areas including Reading, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

ACT WorkKeys
Grade:  12
Testing Window:  October 6-December 5, 2025; January 12-February 27, 2026; April 6-May 22, 2026
Purpose:  In order to meet graduation guidelines criteria, students must earn the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate by scoring at Bronze (3) or higher in Applied Mathematics, Workplace Documents AND Graphic Literacy.