Another View

We must do more to meet the needs of these 50,000

(in fact, probably over 60,000) students on a READ Plan after grade 3

Third annual update - Colorado students in grades 4-12 on a READ Plan

In Part 3, next month: Setting a goal for these FORGOTTEN 50,000

Between grades 4 and 8, let’s reduce the number of students

on a READ by more than 50%.

Compare and contrast. What do you make of this?

Colorado READ Act, for K-3 students	Colorado students on a READ Plan, grades 4-12
Total funding since 2014 – over $320 million^{^[i]}	?
Annual state funding – $26 million last 5 years^{^[ii]}	“Schools do not receive READ Act per pupil funding for students who remain on a READ plan beyond 3rd grade, even though these students have not yet reached grade level reading proficiency.”^{^[iii]} (2025 READ Act Report)
# of pages in annual reports to legislature: Colorado READ Act 2025 Report – 78 pages Colorado READ Act 2024 Report - 67 pages	# of pages in the annual reports about the students in grades 4-12 on a READ Plan: one page
# of K-3 students READ Act efforts identified with a Significant Reading Deficiency: 2024: 46,835 2023: 48,952 2022: 50,273	# of 4-12 students the state reports (*) are still on a READ Plan: 2024: 49,758 2023: 51,223 2022: 50,164

*Totals from READ Act reports and data provided by the Colorado Department of Education, following Data Requests. Another View’s study of CDE’s 2024 report shows the figures for high school students on a READ Plan come from just 29 districts. The numbers are suppressed from over 150 districts. AV #298 shows that the state’s “total” significantly understates the actual number of students in grades 4-12 on a READ Plan.

Why report these numbers?

Another View again presents the number of high school students on a READ Plan.^{^[iv]} Why? #1 - Virtually no one else publishes these numbers. #2 - To highlight the OTHER 50,000 students mentioned only in passing (see above, one page) in the READ Act reports. To make sure they are not forgotten. #3 - To show that Colorado’s literacy focus on the K-3 years is entirely inadequate.

The READ Act’s work is critical. It helps us identify and serve those K-3 students struggling to read well. But after mentioning the 50,000, READ Act reports say nothing about these students. No follow-up. As if forgotten. No concerted effort by the state to meet their needs.

The comparison above hints at the limited scope of the state’s work to improve reading. The Colorado Department of Education’s 2025-28 Strategic Plan doubles down on our narrow focus.

Increase the percentage of third graders meeting or exceeding expectations

on ELA CMAS from 42% in 2024 to 60% by 2028.^{^[v]}

Not a word about literacy efforts after grade 3. (The second goal under “Accelerating Student Outcomes”: new expectations of high school graduates. The Strategic Plan ignores grades 4-11.)

AV #297 presented efforts and strategies, some in place in other states, to address the reading difficulties for students after grade 3. If Colorado adopted such efforts and strategies, I doubt we would see, as shown here, so many students still on a READ Plan well into high school.

I close with an estimate of what the actual figures might have been if we had data from every district. Beyond what CDE reports, perhaps another 10,000 students in grades 4-12 were on a READ Plan. Creating a total of 60,000 students.

Purpose of the READ Plan: to see students demonstrate “grade level competency” as readers.

“For students who are not reading on grade level by the end of third grade, the READ plan remains in place in subsequent years until grade level competency is achieved.” From 2025 READ Act Report.^{^[vi]}

CDE reports the following number of Colorado students on a READ Plan after third grade, for 2023 and 2024.

Grade	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	TOTAL
2023-24	13,081	10,308	7,497	1,161*	5,240	4,861	3,693	2,560	1,357	49,758
2022-23	12,708	10,548	2,157*	6,676	6,371	5,152	3,676	2,524	1,411	51,223

For a full picture covering years 2018 to 2024, see Endnotes.^{^[vii]}

At the high school level, then, CDE reports over 12,000 students on a READ Plan in 2023 and 2024.

CDE’s total number of high school students on a READ Plan	2021	2022	2023	2024
	9,093	11,127	12,763	12,471

When we see roughly 5,000 9^th graders still on a READ Plan, we must ask …

Kudos to Aurora and Denver for providing specific data (below) to CDE. But it seems a crime that, having identified those students who struggle to read well in grades 4 and 5, we can’t do more to improve their reading skills prior to 9^th grade. We must ask: What is NOT happening in grades 4-8 that leads so many freshmen - in DPS, 1,311; in Aurora, 584 - to still be on a READ Plan? (Addendum A shows over 3,300 freshmen on a READ Plan in 10 metro-area districts.)

What CDE’s reports DO (and DO NOT) tell us

CDE provides the number of students on a READ Plan that inform the following two pages.

1) # in 25 high schools, each with roughly 100 students or more still on a READ Plan in 2023-24.

2) # in our 40 largest districts. (These were the 40 largest in 2023-24; still true in 2025-26.)

· Numbers here are from just 26 of these 40 districts.

· Numbers from 14 districts—several fairly large—are suppressed.

· Data added from three small districts (under 2,200 enrolled) that do report their numbers.

MY CONCLUSION: As we have no data from 150 districts that enroll over 200,000 students, CDE’s “total” number of high school students on a READ Plan is well short of the true number.

2021-2024 – From 25 high schools: number of students on a READ Plan, by school and grade

		2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	GRADE
	Grades 9-11		Grades 9-12	Grades 9-12	Grades 9-12	9	10	11	12
Westminster High	335		327	419	392	164	132	96	Supp*
Aurora Central H.S. (APS)	203		290	419	393	114	109	107	63
Hinkley (APS)	199		225	274	Supp*	Suppressed
Rangeview H.S. (APS)	116		177	250	336	140	73	68	55
Adams City High School	206		239	274	277	103	88	60	26
Gateway High (APS)	137		190	250	271	102	72	53	44
North High (DPS)	196		271	296	255	97	72	49	37
Montbello H.S. (DPS)	97		126	216	202	96	45	24	37
Vista Peak 9-12 Preparatory (APS)	57		101	149*	199	94	69	36	Supp
East High (DPS)	124		153	167	178	64	40	37	37
Douglas County H.S.	96		126	156*	158	66	52	40	Supp
Montrose H.S.	88		131	147	157	77	43	37	Supp
Skyline H.S. (St. Vrain)	75		130	176	157	53	57	47	Supp
South High (DPS)	120		151	146	150	51	37	31	31
RMP Prep – Smart Academy (DPS)	98		116	143	135	46	47	19	23
Northfield H.S. (DPS)	71		114	127*	134	56	49	29	Supp
Northglenn High (Adams 12)	154		181	103*	128	36	40	52	Supp
Abraham Lincoln (DPS)	182		224	140	128	45	28	34	21
Dr. MLK. Jr. Early College (DPS)	104		134	148	119	50	35	16	18
Loveland H.S.(Thompson R2-J)	87		104	119	112	37	26	22	27
Aurora West College Prep (APS)	65		106	147	108	39	17	29	23
KIPP NE Denver Leadership (DPS)	86		100	132	105	47	38	20	Supp
Thomas Jefferson H.S. (DPS)	90		118	135	102	49	30	23	Supp
George Washington H.S. (DPS)	110		123	112*	98	51	26	21	Supp
John F Kennedy (DPS)	126		149	150	95	45	32	18	Supp
	3,222		4,105	4,795	4,389	1,722	1,257	968	442**

*Supp = suppressed. CDE explains: “any small counts will be suppressed to protect student privacy.”

** 422 seniors, even with data suppressed from 12 of these schools.

NOTE: It is no criticism of a high school if it reports many freshmen still struggling to read well. However, a high number might tell us something about what was not happening in grades 4-8.

40 largest districts - 26 - YES - CDE’s reports include READ Plan numbers

14 - NO - CDE’s reports show data from this district are “Suppressed”

-	Pupil membership (2025-26) State Total ^{^[viii]}	870,793	YES	NO
1	Denver County 1	89,210	x
2	Jefferson County R-1j	74,177	x
3	Douglas County Re 1	61,535	x
4	Cherry Creek 5	51,844	x
5	Adams-Arapahoe 28J	38,197	x
6	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	33,039	x
7	St Vrain Valley RE1J	32,279	x
8	Poudre R-1	29,133	x
9	Boulder Valley Re 2	27,541		x
10	Academy 20	26,471	x
11	District 49	26,423	x
12	School District 27J	24,290	x
13	Colorado Springs 11	23,458		x
14	Greeley 6	22,778	x
15	Charter School Institute	20,966	x
16	Mesa County Valley 51	19,280	x
17	Thompson R2-J	14,280	x
18	Education reEnvisioned BOCES	13,502		x
19	Pueblo City 60	13,302		x
20	Littleton 6	12,904	x
21	Harrison 2	12,011		x
22	Pueblo County 70	10,240		x
23	Widefield 3	9,347		x
24	Weld RE-4	8,883		x
25	Fountain 8	7,709		x
26	Byers 32J	7,590	x
27	Westminster Public Schools	7,282	x
28	Mapleton 1	6,943	x
29	Lewis-Palmer 38	6,318	x
30	Eagle County RE 50	6,073	x
31	Montrose County RE-1J	5,876	x
32	Roaring Fork RE-1	5,621	x
33	Adams County 14	4,976	x
34	Garfield Re-2	4,642		x
35	Delta County 50(J)	4,371		x
36	Durango 9-R	4,282	x
37	Johnstown-Milliken RE-5J	4,205		x
38	Cheyenne Mountain 12	3,726		x
39	Summit RE-1	3,378	x
40	Fort Morgan Re-3	3,327		x

Over 635,000 students enrolled in 26 districts with data. (Several districts only had data for 9th and/or 10th grade.)

Over 145,000 students in 14 districts where data is suppressed.

In all, 26 of 29 districts reporting (above) were among the state’s 40 largest districts.

Three other smaller districts also reported data:

	enrollment	9	10	11	12
Alamosa	1,992	42	20	22	18
Lake County R-1	884	supp	17	21	supp
Montezuma Cortez RE-	2,178	33	26	19	supp
Total from these 3 districts	5,054	75	63	62	18

Estimated # of high school students on a READ Plan in 2023-24 – with 185 districts reporting

CDE’s high school figures come essentially from just 29 of our 185 districts. Meaning we have results for roughly three-quarters of the high school students enrolled in 2023-24. I have attempted to find what the numbers would be if we had data from every district. My explanation of this estimate is in Addendum B. I conclude:

# of high school students on a READ Plan	9	10	11	12	TOTAL
State’s report - Apparently reflecting data from 29 districts	4,861	3,693	2,560	1,357	12,471
Projecting what totals might be if we also had data from the 150 other districts	6,500	5,000	3,500	1,800	16,800

Estimated # of all grade 4-12 students on a READ Plan in 2023-2024 - with 185 districts reporting

CDE’s 2023-24 figures tell us 49,758 students in grades 4-12 were on a READ Plan.

For grades 4-8, CDE’s numbers are more complete than they are for high schools. Figures are available from 57 districts. So once gain, numbers are suppressed for most districts. And several small districts only show data for grade 4.[ix]

Again, CDE has pointed out why small counts are suppressed.[x] But that does not account for all data being suppressed from Colorado Springs, ED reEnvisioned BOCES, and Pueblo 60, districts with several large schools. (More in Endnotes.[xi])

So we are missing much data. If we had all the numbers for 2023-24, from all 185 districts, it seems reasonable to suppose that over 60,000 students in grades 4-12 were on a READ Plan.

Even 60,000 on a READ Plan does not reveal the size of the challenge for our schools

And yet, as I made clear in “After the READ Act – Beyond third grade, how well do our students read?” [xii] (2024), both CMAS-Reading/Writing and NAEP READING scores suggest 60,000 seriously understates how many students in grades 4-12 cannot read at grade level.

As evidence, one contrast: 2024 READ Plan data show 5,240 8^th graders on a READ Plan. But NAEP’s 2024 report found 26% of Colorado 8^th graders scored at the Below Basic level. That suggests 17,000 8^th graders were not reading anywhere close to grade level. (See Addendum C.)

I hope we are willing to acknowledge how many students in Colroado, beyond third grade, struggle to read. If we can do that, we might set a new goal: to help all K-12 students read well.

Addendum A

Number of high school students on a READ Plan in 10 metro districts

10 metro districts	# of high school students on READ Plan		# of 9^th graders on READ Plan 2023-24
10 metro districts	For 2022-23	For 2023-24	# of 9^th graders on READ Plan 2023-24
Denver County	3,909	3,474	1,311
Adams-Arapahoe	1,713	1,493*	584*
Douglas County	878	869	378
Cherry Creek	549	717	332
Jefferson County	579	626	193
Westminster	497	445**	169
Adams 12 Five Star Schools	334	353**	107
Adams 14	294	299	103
Mapleton	266	287	106
Littleton	136	194	85
TOTAL	9,155	8,757	3,368

Numbers for each district come from the CDE report. Total is my addition. Math errors are mine.

* Grade 12 data suppressed for Hinkley High School.

**Grade 12 data suppressed for the district.

Addendum B

Estimating the number of high school students on a READ Plan – for 185 districts

For grades 9-12, the report from the Colorado Department of Education only includes data from 29 districts. Here is one way to estimate what the numbers for 2023-24 might have been – if data from the other 150 districts were available.

9^TH GRADE – 2024

4,861 9^th graders on a READ Plan; that is the number CDE presents in its 2024 report. However, by my count, the total number of 9^th graders on a READ Plan, just from the 29 districts from whom data is available, almost reaches that same “total” - 4,786.

Who believes that the other 150 districts only had 75 9^th graders on a READ Plan?

10^TH GRADE – 2024

3,693 10^th graders on a READ Plan; that is the number in CDE's 2024 report. However, in my tally, the total number of 10^th graders on a READ Plan, just from the 29 districts that did not have data suppressed, almost reaches that same “total” – 3,646.

It is highly unlikely that the other 150 districts only had 47 10^th graders on a READ Plan, true?

How many 9^th and 10^th graders were actually on READ Plan in Colorado in 2023-24?

Here is one way to suggest a round figure.

This year the state enrolls 871,000 students.

In the 29 districts reporting data and/or with data not suppressed: enrollment is 640,000. They enroll about 73.5% (640,000/871,000) of Colorado’s students.

From CDE’s reports, I counted 4,786 9^th graders on a READ Plan. If that represents about 73.5% of the real total, perhaps close to 6,500 9^th graders were on a READ Plan in 2024.

I counted 3,646 10^th graders on a READ Plan. If that represents about 73.5% of the real total, I am guessing almost 5,000 10^th graders were on a READ Plan in 2024.

I use that same formula to estimate the number of 11^th and 12^th graders actually on a READ Plan in 2024 across all 185 districts.

Grade 11 – CDE reports 2,560 11^th graders on READ Plan. If that is roughly 73.5% of the real total, perhaps 3,500 11^th graders were on a READ Plan.

Grade 12 – CDE reports 1,357 12^th graders on a READ Plan. If that is roughly 73.5% of the real total, I estimate that 1,800 12^th graders were on a READ Plan

On that basis, if we had results from all 185 districts, here is my estimate of the number of high school students on a READ Plan in ’23-’24.

# of high school students on a READ Plan	9	10	11	12	TOTAL
State’s report - Apparently reflecting data from 29 districts	4,861	3,693	2,560	1,357	12,471
Projecting what totals might be if we also had data from the 150 other districts	6,500	5,000	3,500	1,800	16,800

Addendum C

READ Plan data vs. NAEP results - 4^th and 8^th graders

Evidence that READ Plan numbers understate the challenge for our schools.

The national NAEP tests are widely respected; they are often described as “setting the gold standard” for academic assessments. Colorado’s NAEP-READING results come from testing “a representative sample” of students, roughly 2,300 in each of two grades, 4 and 8. An incomplete picture, then, of Colorado students, but it still gives us a meaningful look at how they perform.

What does the national assessment tell us about the percentage (and from that, a round number) of Colorado students struggling to read anywhere close to grade level? For this purpose, we look at the percentage of Colorado students who scored at NAEP’s lowest performance level, Below Basic, in Reading.

NAEP – Below Basic

“Scoring Below Basic indicates a performance significantly below grade level, representing a lack of foundational skills and knowledge for a particular grade.” More in Endnote.^{^[xiii]}

NAEP – READING – 2017 – 2024

1. Declining percentage of Colorado students in grades 4 & 8 scoring AT OR ABOVE PROFICIENT.

% At or Above Proficient

	2017	2019	2022	2024
Grade 4	40	40	38	36
Grade 8	41	38	34	35

2. Growing percentage of Colorado students in grades 4 & 8 scoring at the BELOW BASIC level.

% performing at Below Basic level.

	2017	2019	2022	2024	Change from 2017
Grade 4	29	29	32	35	+6
Grade 8	21	23	27	26	+5

There were 63,398 4^th grade students in Colorado in 2024.

35% x 63,398 = suggests over 22,000 4^th graders might be seen as Below Basic in Reading.

There were 65,760 8^th grade students in Colorado in 2024:

26% x 65,760 = suggests over 17,000 8^th graders might be seen as Below Basic in Reading.

NAEP’s scores indicate the READ Plan figures only begin to reveal how many Colorado students are reading well below grade level.

For the academic year 2023-2024

Grade 4

Grade 8

#s from CDE’s READ Plan totals

13,081

5,240

#s suggested by results of NAEP/READING – scoring Below Basic

22,000

(35% of 4^th graders)

17,000

(26% of 8^th graders)

Endnotes

[i] Year 4 Independent Evaluation (2015 -2021 – roughly $190 million) https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/readactperpupilsummaryreportyear4

Financial Data,” READ Act Data Dashboard (2022-2026 – roughly $130 million), https://ed.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/datareportinganddashboard/read-act-data-dashboard

[ii] “Financial Data,” READ Act Data Dashboard (2022-2026 – roughly $26 million each year), https://ed.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/datareportinganddashboard/read-act-data-dashboard

2022: $25,995,531

2023: $25,999,218

2024: $25,399,390

2025: $25,984,553

2026: $26,019,865

[iii] Colorado READ Act - 2025 Annual Report, https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/read-act-report-2025.

[iv] READING REPORT – After the READ Act - Beyond third grade – how well do our students read?, https://anotherviewphj.blogspot.com/2024/02/ - Part 2 – 30 high schools with 100 or more students on a READ plan (Data for 2021 and 2022)

AV#291 – “Knowing the READ Act is not enough, what is next step for Colorado?” - Addendum A - Evidence of thousands of students in grades 4-12 not proficient in reading - Part 1 - READ Plans – Data suggest over 55,000 students in grades 4-12 are on a READ Plan. https://anotherviewphj.blogspot.com/2025/09/

ALSO - two articles on Boardhawk, with data from 2023 - “Data reveal the shocking breadth and depth of Colorado’s reading crisis” (Nov, 25, 2024) and “Grades 4-12 cannot remain a reading no man’s land” (Jan. 15, 2025).

[v] CDE’s 2025-28 Strategic Plan, Colorado Department of education, https://www.cde.state.co.us/communications/strategicplan2025-2028

[vi] Colorado READ Act - 2025 Annual Report, Colorado Department of Education, https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/read-act-report-2025

[vii] Data from CDE reports on the number of students on a READ Plan, 2018-2024.

Grade	4	5	6	7	8	9	Subtotal 4-9	10	11	12	Subtotal 10-12**	Total
2018*	11,000	7,000	6,000	4,000	2,000		30,000					30,000
2019	13,310	10,770	7,552	5,691	4,017	2,325	43,665					43,665
2020	No data in 2021 report – COVID-19 related.
2021	N/A*	10,777	9,584	7,904	5,821	4,396	38,482	2,932	1,758	N.A.	4,690	43,172
2022	14,033	1,933*	8,395	7,914	6,762	4,813	43,850	3,324	2,252	738	6,314	50,164
2023	12,708	10,548	2,157*	6,676	6,371	5,152	43,612	3,676	2,524	1,411	7,611	51,223
2024	13,081	10,308	7,497	1,161*	5,240	4,861	42,148	3,693	2,560	1,357	7,610	49,758

*2021 - data on these students “unavailable due to pandemic-related suspension of the 2020 READ Act Collection.” 2022 - 2024 - limited by lack of collection of data when these students were in 3^rd grade in 2020.

[viii] Pupil Membership Statistics, CDE, https://ed.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/pupilmembership-statistics

[ix] Eight small districts reporting data for grade 4 only. Data for grades 5-8 are suppressed.

Archuleta – 17

Estes Park – 21

Holyoke – 20

Manitou Springs – 19

Moffat County – 57

Salida – 22

West Grad 17

Woodlawn – 17

[x] Email from CDE regarding READ Data request, Dec. 15, 2025.

[xi] In 2024, when I asked specifically about a couple of large districts showing little to no data, CDE explained: “We are required to suppress any counts less than 16, which is why much of the high school level information is suppressed. In other words, where ‘Suppressed’ is noted, it means that the count is below 16.” (Email to me from CDE, Nov. 1, 2024). But this is unlikely to be the cause when a district enrolls over 13,000 students, and when it has many schools enrolling over 700 students.

[xii] READING REPORT – After the READ Act - Beyond third grade – how well do our students read?, https://anotherviewphj.blogspot.com/2024/02/

More recent - AV #290 – Reading/literacy: over 1/3 of Colorado 4^th graders read below grade level, https://anotherviewphj.blogspot.com/2025/08/

[xiii] AI Mode – “On NAEP, how far below grade level is Below Basic?” (Bold mine)

“Below Basic on NAEP indicates a performance significantly below grade level, representing a lack of foundational skills and knowledge for a particular grade.

“Here's a breakdown:

NAEP Basic: Represents partial mastery of foundational skills, roughly equivalent to proficient on many state tests.
Below Basic: Students scoring below the Basic level demonstrate less than partial mastery and struggle with fundamental skills for their grade level.

“Example for clarity - For instance, a fourth-grader performing below NAEP Basic might struggle with identifying the main idea or purpose of a simple text, or sequencing events in a story.

In essence, Below Basic signifies a significant struggle with grade-level content and points to a need for targeted intervention to build foundational skills.”

Another View

Sunday, March 15, 2026

AV #298 - Reading in grades 4-12 – Part 2 - Over 50,000 students on a READ Plan