General Assessment Information for Parents

About

Meaningful and relevant tests work hand-in-hand with rigorous academic standards. The state’s summative tests are called the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), which measure students’ mastery of the standards and the complex thinking and other critical skills students need to be successful in school and in life.

2025 State Tests

In spring 2025, third- through eighth-graders in Colorado will take the CMAS tests, which are aligned to the Colorado Academic Standards. Colorado's ninth- and 10th-graders will take the PSAT and 11th-graders will take the SAT (11th-graders also take CMAS science). The state-level results for these tests are expected to be made available in the summer. District- and school-level student data files and preliminary individual student reports are typically available to districts in June (do not include comparative school-, district-, and state-level performance) and final individual student reports are available in July after each administration (include comparative performance). Click here for testing dates.

2024 CMAS Score Reports

Last spring, Colorado's third- through eighth-graders took the CMAS tests, which are aligned to the Colorado Academic Standards. Colorado's ninth- and 10th-graders took the PSAT and 11th-graders took the SAT (11th -graders also took CMAS science). The state-level results for these tests were released in August 2024; however, 2024 student data files, summary data files, and preliminary student performance reports (SPRs) were made available to districts in June, and finalized SPRs and school- and district-level reports were made available in July. While assessment results are embargoed and must not be shared publicly, districts and schools may share confidential individual student performance reports with parents and may use aggregated and individual student level results internally for informational and planning purposes as soon as they are received. Resources to help parents better understand what the test results mean and how they can be used to support their student's academic success are linked in the following section. Click here for reporting dates.

What to expect for the state assessments

Fact Sheets about the Assessments
- English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions
- English | Spanish (PDF)
Role of State Assessments
- This fact sheet explains the role of statewide assessments in increasing academic achievement.
  - English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)
- This fact sheet explains why participating in statewide testing matters to students.
  - English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)