Many of Colorado's largest education organizations, as well as the Denver Public Schools board, want this spring's Colorado Measures of Academic Success, or CMAS, testing to be canceled so that teachers can focus on making up educational deficits incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But such a move would be difficult even with the support of Governor Jared Polis — and thus far, he offers no indication that he wants a fight over standardized tests.
The Colorado Department of Education describes CMAS as "the state’s common measurement of students’ progress at the end of the school year in English language arts, math, science and social studies. Students in grades three through eight take the CMAS tests in math and English language arts. Students in fifth, eighth and 11th grade take the CMAS science assessments. In 2021, about a third of schools will administer the CMAS social studies assessments in grades four and seven."