District Reforms

The district’s mission is clear... to provide all students the opportunity to achieve the knowledge and skills necessary to become contributing citizens in our society. Watch here as DPS continues to challenge itself, reform and grow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the School Performance Framework (SPF)?

The School Performance Framework (SPF) is a comprehensive, annual review of school performance, which is presented in the form of a scorecard that measures multiple performance criteria. It was created as a means of accrediting our schools as ... read more

Growth vs. Status

The state and federal accountability systems, School Accountability Report (SAR) and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), are the primary measures of school performance in Colorado. However, these measures alone do not provide a true picture of ... read more

SPF Scorecard

An SPF scorecard is generated by collecting and aggregating data on each SPF measure from each school in the Denver Public Schools system. Points and corresponding stoplights are then assigned to each of those measures, using the SPF ... read more

Why are we implementing SPF now?

For the past several years Denver Public Schools has relied on SAR and AYP ratings as the primary measures of a school’s progress or lack of progress. However, feedback from teachers, principals and parents has emphasized that these ... read more

Are other school districts in the state and around the country implementing similar initiatives to SPF?

Yes, some of the nation’s most progressive school districts are implementing similar initiatives or are considering undergoing this transformation. We have the benefit of learning best practices from some that are further ahead of ... read more

How will the schools be rated and when will they be rated?

In April 2008, schools will receive a scorecard without a rating. The reason for not providing a rating is that the data is not the most current data as it is from the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years. In September 2008, when we have the ... read more

Are all DPS schools receiving an SPF scorecard? What about alternative schools and charter schools?

With the exception of two schools, Manual and Westerly Creek, all schools, including DPS alternative and charter schools will be receiving a scorecard that summarizes the data for the school. Manual is in its first year of operation and ... read more

What are the incentives and interventions associated with the SPF ratings?

The District intends to use the SPF to incentivize schools to improve their performance and to provide support to struggling schools. The district and the Board of Education, with principal input, are developing a program of incentives ... read more

Is SPF ultimately going to lead to more school closures?

The SPF is not intended to be punitive. Instead, its goal is to provide more robust measures of a variety of indicators that allow principals and teachers to make more informed decisions to benefit each and every DPS student. The ... read more

How is SPF tied in with the principal pay for performance program and ProComp, the teacher compensation system?

Principal Pay for Performance will be tied to school performance on the SPF. We are currently looking at ways to link teacher ProComp to the SPF as well, and will be working with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association to develop such a ... read more

How can SPF results be used by schools to improve the work they're doing?

As part of the Growth indicator, we’re comparing performance at similar schools to one another. These similar schools are determined through a cluster analysis based on two factors, the percentage of students receiving Free and ... read more

Will SPF results be broken down by classes and teachers?

No. The SPF was designed to evaluate overall school performance, not individual student or teacher performance. However, as part of the overall Performance Management initiative, DPS is currently developing a student/teacher data ... read more

How does the SPF align with AYP and SAR?

SPF is aligned with district goals, as well as state and federal mandates. It incorporates data provided by the School Accountability Report, known as SAR, and Adequate Yearly Progress known as AYP, but it does not replace those ... read more

Are all DPS students counted in the SPF?

It generally depends on the SPF measure, but all students who are included in the School Accountability Report (SAR) are included for all of the academic measures in the SPF. Like in SAR, data in the School Performance Framework is ... read more

Does the SPF compare my school to other schools?

Yes. The SPF growth percentile compares performance at similar schools, or clusters, to one another. These similar schools are determined through a cluster analysis that considers percentage of students receiving Free and Reduced Lunch and the ... read more

How have you made sure that SPF is fair since our schools are so different in terms of the number of Free and Reduce Lunch (FRL) students, English Language Learners (ELL), Special Education students, etc.?

The SPF growth percentile compares performance at similar schools, or clusters, to one another. These similar schools are determined through a cluster analysis that considers percentage of students receiving Free and Reduced Lunch and the ... read more

Why is there not a standalone indicator for English Language Learners (ELL)?

All eligible English Language Learners (ELL) who take the state assessments, are accounted for in the SPF. However, we are looking for a means by which to evaluate ELL as a standalone measure in the future and are currently working with the ... read more

Could a school have zero points available for Catch-Up and Keep-Up or any other measure?

Yes, data in the School Performance Framework is only included if there is a minimum of 16 students in a particular area or subgroup. For Catch-Up, this could happen if a school had fewer than 16 students in the Unsatisfactory and Partially ... read more

Are CSAP Lectura and Escritura included as part of the SPF?

Yes. They are included in the Status indicator, but not in the Growth indicator as most students don’t take the test in Spanish for two consecutive years. ... read more

Why is Benchmark data not included in the SPF but Diagnostic Reading Assessment (DRA) data is?

Benchmark assessments are formative assessments that provide data for teachers to tailor their instruction based on the individual needs of their students. Although DRA is also formative, it is the only measure that assesses K-2 students ... read more

Is data really the answer to helping kids graduate?

There are many factors to consider when trying to improve overall student achievement. Having timely, actionable data is a critical foundation for principals and school communities to quickly identify individual challenges and ... read more

How much of the SPF is going to change?

The SPF scorecards released in April of 2008 include data from the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years. We will release another round of SPF scorecards with ratings in the fall of 2008 that incorporate data from the 2006-07 and 2007-08 ... read more