The Colorado Small Schools Initiative recognizes the importance of research, data, evaluation and analysis in measuring a school's progress through the reform process and beyond. CSSI regularly commissions research on the high schools we work with, and supports publications that focus on relevant educational issues for Colorado's students.
All of the documents below are presented in portable document format (PDF).
- Advancing the "Colorado Graduates" Agenda: Understanding the Dropout Problem and Mobilizing to Meet the Graduation Challenge, October 2009
- Advancing the "Colorado Graduates" Agenda: Understanding the Dropout Problem and Mobilizing to Meet the Graduation Challenge, October 2009
Executive Summary
- "Girls Tend to Stop Going; Boys Get Told Not to Come Back" A Report on Gender and the Dropout Problem in Colorado Schools, October 2009
- School Dropouts in Rural Colorado School Districts, October 2009
- Denver's Public Schools: Reforms, Challenges, and the Future, June 2009
- Food for Thought, Health for Success: Pursuing Policy that Supports Student Wellness and Achievement, February 2009
- Alternative Compensation: Exploring Teacher Pay Reform in Colorado. September 2008
- Understanding Mill Levy Stabilization in Colorado
A report by the Colorado Children's Campaign and the Center for Education Policy Analysis, April 2007.
- Creating a Zone of Innovation in Denver
A report of the Piton Foundation, the Stapleton Foundation and the Colorado Children's Campaign, March 2006.
- Denver School of Science and Technology: A High School That Works
Colorado Children's Campaign, March 2006
- Colorado's Graduation Rate: The Real Story
The Colorado Children's Campaign, March 2006.
- A Series of White Papers Commissioned by the Colorado Children's Campaign for the Colorado Commission for High School Improvement
The complete set of white papers commissioned by the Colorado Children's Campaign for the Colorado Commission for High School Improvement. January 2006.
- White Paper #1 - Improving Achievement and Reducing the Gaps: Principles, Research Findings and Commentary
November 2004. Prepared by Spud Van de Water.
- White Paper #2 - Transitions To and From High School: Principles, Research Findings & Commentary
October, 2004. Prepared by Spud Van de Water
- White Paper #3 - Data and Reporting
October, 2004. Prepared for the CCHSI Committee on Data and Reporting by Dixie Griffin Good
- High School Reform in Colorado: Meeting the Expecations of a New Era
The final report of the Colorado Commission for High School Improvement makes recommendations to move the state forward.
- State Accountability Report
Donnell-Kay Foundation, in partnership with the Colorado Children’s Campaign, Piton Foundation and the Center for Education Policy Analysis at the University of Colorado at Denver says that Colorado ranks low or average on most academic performance indicators and unsatisfactory in addressing the academic achievement gap among minorities, according to the “State Accountability Report.”
- Coming of Age in Colorado: The Challenges Facing Our Youth
Colorado Children's Campaign, Kaye Boeke, November 2005.
- 390,343 Colorado Children Left Behind: Who's Closing the Achievement Gaps in Colorado's Schools?
October 2005, Andrew Brodsky
- Looking Back to Face Forward: Confronting Growing Gaps and Declining Achievement in Denver Schools
Colorado Children's Campaign and the Piton Foundation, July 2005
- Minding the Middle: Improving Colorado Middle Grade Education
Colorado Children's Campaign, July 2005
- Breaking up is Hard to Do: Lessons Learned from the Experiences of Manual High School
Colorado Children's Campaign, April 2005
- Top Ten Recommendations for Creating Small High Schools
Colorado Children's Campaign, April 2005
- Raising the Bar: Policy Recommendations For High School Reform
Colorado Commission for High School Improvement and the Colorado Children's Campaign, January 2005
- Denver's Latino Students: A Snapshot of Education and Opportunity
Colorado Children's Campaign, October 2004
- The Wager of a Lifetime: High School Graduation Rates in Colorado
Colorado Children's Campaign, August 2004
Research on STEM Education, Educational Reform and Small Schools
- Innovation and Improvement in K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education, December 2007A snapshot of the scope and progress of STEM initiatives in the nine front range counties.
- The Metro Denver WIRED Region: School District and Student Characteristics and STEM Performance, February 2008An overview of the nine front-range counties.
- Implementing the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in Colorado, April 2004
The author, Alex Medler, argues that previously existing policies, at both the state and local level, affect how and whether districts comply with NCLB.
- High School Policy in Colorado, March 2004
The report, authored by Judy Bray, states that the majority of Colorado students are not prepared for success. It calls for the state to focus on policy change to increase outcomes and create a better system of learning.
- Changing the Context for Colorado's Charter Movement, June 2003
The author, Alex Medler, and CSSI explore Denver charter schools within the larger contexts of the Colorado and the national charter movements.
- A Call for High School Reform, March 2003
Gary Lichtenstein and CSSI examine high school education in Colorado and discover an ailing system based on student attrition and achievement.
- Something of a Summary of the Tensions Faced Enacting Small Schools Conversions, February 2003
Patrick J. McQuillan, Ed.D., Boston College, authored this report on The High Schools Conversions Conference, held in Denver and hosted by CSSI, in February 2003; many educational reformers from around the country participated--this report highlights the issues and questions that developed from this meeting.
- Some Insights into School Reform, 2002
Patrick J. McQuillan, Ed.D., Boston College, shares his point of view on school reform, which is broadly applicable to schools attempting to alter their routines and structures.
Research on Manual Educational Complex: Leadership High School; Millennium Quest High School; and, Arts & Cultural Studies High School
- Breaking up is Hard to Do: Lessons Learned from the Experiences of Manual High School
April 2005
- Three Years Down the Road (English Version): Small School Reform at the Manual Educational Complex, August 2004 By Patrick J. McQuillan, Ed.D., Boston College
- Three Years Down the Road (Spanish Executive Summary): Small School Reform at the Manual Educational Complex, August 2004 By Patrick J. McQuillan, Ed.D., Boston College
- Observational Data: Manual Educational Complex: Year Two (2002-2003)
Year Two Implementation of Small Schools at Manual Educational Complex, Steven M. Ross, Ph.D., Elizabeth Goldfeder, Ph.D., Center for Research in Educational Policy, The University of Memphis
- Observational Data: Manual Educational Complex: Year Two (2002-2003)
Two Years into Small School Reform: The Manual Educational Complex at a Crossroad--a qualitative study, Patrick J. McQuillan, Ed.D., Boston College
- Observational Data: Manual Educational Complex: Year One (2001-2002)
From Big-To-Small: A Qualitative Study of The Manual Educational Complex Experience, Patrick J. McQuillan, Ed.D., Boston College
- Observational Data: Manual Educational Complex: Year One (2001-2002)
Year One Implementation of Small Schools at Manual Educational Complex, Steven M. Ross, Ph.D., Elizabeth Goldfeder, Ph.D., The University of Memphis
