My wife and I retired at the end of the 2020 school year, ending our long careers in education. We got out just in time. Trends were becoming so fraudulent and destructive that we wouldn’t have survived much longer. Competent, professional teaching had given way to expensive, destructive fads.
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Among the worst trends involved testing. Mandatory, high-stakes testing was and remains an expensive, self-imposed disaster. The idea that the data derived from those tests would make it possible to deliver more effective instruction sounds good, but as always, the devil is in the details. Such tests tend to drive, rather than measure, instruction.
As reputations, promotions, and state funding are dependent on scores, teachers are forced to spend month after month doing nothing but teaching to the test. Bad scores tend to cause school districts—even states–to hide them rather than report them honestly, or at the least, spin the results in ridiculous ways. Some school districts resort to cheating to raise scores. To a greater degree in blue rather than red states, poor black and other minority test scores are an increased impetus for cheating and gaslighting or hiding results.
Graphic: X Post
Colorado, which is striving to out-California California, has recently illustrated the problem:
Any of the following would be perfectly accurate and appropriate headlines for testing data released August 19 from the Colorado Measures of Academic Success:
“Most students grades 3–8 behind in all subjects according to state testing.”
“State testing shows overall low student scores increase in just over half of categories by grade and subject.”
“Nearly two-thirds of Colorado students struggle in math despite small testing gains.”
“Large majority of Black and Hispanic students continue to struggle in language and math.”
Here is an actual headline from the Denver Post that’s reasonable: “2026 CMAS results show Colorado students making gains in math, falling behind in reading.”
Colorado is trying to make horrible results seem like a positive development:
But the Colorado Department of Education is interested in putting the most positive spin possible on terrible results. Its August 19 media release carries the headline, “Colorado student achievement and growth results show continued progress, with mathematics and elementary literacy leading gains.”
How bad is it? This bad:
Here’s the fraction of students overall who meet or exceed expectations in English: grade 3, 40.8%; grade 4, 47%, grade 5, 49.9%, grade 6, 41.6%, grade 7, 46.6%, grade 8, 42.2%.
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Here are the results in math: grade 3, 41.5%, grade 4, 39%, grade 5, 39.3%, grade 6, 32.7%, grade 7, 32.9%, grade 8, 37.8%.
If that’s not enough to horrify you, here are the results specifically for black and Hispanic students in English: grade 3, black 25.6%, Hispanic 24.1%; grade 4, black 29.8%, Hispanic 29.1%; grade 5, black 33.9%, Hispanic 31.7%; grade 6, black 26%, Hispanic 22.5%, grade 7, black 34%, Hispanic 28.5%; grade 8, black 29.4%, Hispanic 23.9%.
Math scores for Black and Hispanic students were equally bad.
Meanwhile, here is the DPS headline for Superintendent Alex Marrero’s August 29 release: “Celebrating Districtwide Academic Gains in 2025–26.” Marrero begins, “It is with great joy that I share Denver Public Schools’ strong year-end academic performance gains across READ Act (early literacy), CMAS and COSAT/PSAT assessments for the 2025-26 school year.”
Remember when I spoke of spin and deception? Marrero was referring to tests that assess Dyslexia and other reading issues, not overall language competency. That’s deception.
For example, Marrero’s release states, “Math Proficiency Gains: 35% of overall Math scores Met or Exceeded Expectations, a 2 percentage point improvement from last year.” Maybe 65% of students not meeting expectations is not quite so joyous?
It’s no better where SAT testing is concerned. Colorado thinks a 480 SAT score “meets expectations,” but kids get a 200 if they miss every question, and 480 is about the 41st percentile, while 600 is the 79th. The College Board, which produces and grades the SAT, notes that kids with a 480 have a 75% chance of getting a “C” in first-semester college courses. Having taught college Freshman English, I can attest that’s a bit optimistic.
What I can also attest is that blue states are far more likely to continue to gaslight the public and fail their students than to admit their DEI, political, and sexual indoctrination policies are a sadistic failure.
Mark Twain wrote:
There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Colorado and other blue states are proving Twain prescient.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
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