Preliminary data released Tuesday shows schools and districts across Colorado earned higher marks last academic year on the annual state performance rating, a sign education officials called “steady progress” as students work to emerge from learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The steady progress in the school and district frameworks is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our students, staff, and communities over the past few years,” Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said in a statement.

“These frameworks provide valuable insight into how our schools are performing, while also highlighting the areas where we need to continue strengthening support for schools and districts still navigating significant challenges,” she added.

Called “performance frameworks,” the preliminary ratings are part of the state’s accountability system, which is used to accredit school districts.

Each year, the state issues school performance ratings for every district and school using, among other things, testing data and graduation rates.

The highest rating that school districts can receive is “distinction.” For schools, the highest rating is “performance,” followed by “improvement,” “priority improvement,” and “turnaround.”

Among the key takeaways:

• Roughly eight in 10 school districts earned a rating of “improvement” or higher. In 2023, seven in 10 school districts earned this.

• 83% of schools in Colorado earned a “performance” or “improvement,” compared to 78% in 2023.

• Just 17 school districts out of 184 earned the “distinction” rating and only one in the Denver metro region: Boulder Valley Re 2.

Denver Public Schools earned a “performance” rating.

The number of schools and districts on what’s called the “accountability clock” decreased last school year compared to 2023.

The state’s accountability clock requires the State Board of Education to intervene when a school or district has received — for five consecutive years — the two lowest ratings.

Eleven districts and 190 schools were identified as on the accountability clock, compared to 22 districts and 224 schools in 2023.

Adams 14 is not one of them.

After a decade on the state’s watchlist, the school district was rated turnaround in 2022, inched up to priority improvement last year and is now rated improvement.

Of the districts in the two lowest categories, only one — Sheridan School District — is in the Denver metro area, state data shows.

Last year’s ratings were the first to count for accountability purposes since 2019 — ratings were not issued in 2020 or 2021 because of learning disruptions during the pandemic, when officials decided to shut down schools and move to remote learning.

The results released Tuesday are considered preliminary because schools and districts can request changes.

The ratings are final in December.

The ratings come on the heels of the education department releasing last month the most recent state testing data.

The new academic achievement data reveals the daunting task school leaders continue to face in trying to overcome student learning loss. While 2019 has become the new benchmark year, the modest gains in math and English show the majority of Colorado’s students are not meeting expectations.

Across DPS, for example, just 31.2% of students met or exceeded expectations in math — a 0.9-point gain over last year — while 40.7% of students did so in English, a 0.4-point increase.

The gains, though, mask troubling areas.

Cody Ostenson, with Denver Families for Public Schools, has pointed out that their review of the state testing data shows that “equity gaps” in reading and math are widening for Black and Latino students.

“We want to be clear that these results are not indicative of what our students or schools are capable of,” Ostenson said in an email to The Denver Gazette. “We know there are examples across DPS of schools of all governance types — traditional, innovation, and public charter — that are excelling at serving Black, Latino, and FRL students.”

Ostenson is a DPS middle school literacy teacher and community engagement advocate.

“The question that all leaders should be asking is, what are the conditions in these schools that are leading to these exceptional results, and how can we apply those conditions throughout DPS?” Ostenson said.