MORE DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: State spins shockingly bad Colorado education testing data.

Any of the following would be perfectly accurate and appropriate headlines for testing data released August 19 from the Colorado Measures of Academic Success:

“Most students grades 3–8 behind in all subjects according to state testing.”

“State testing shows overall low student scores increase in just over half of categories by grade and subject.”

“Nearly two-thirds of Colorado students struggle in math despite small testing gains.”

“Large majority of Black and Hispanic students continue to struggle in language and math.”

Here is an actual headline from the Denver Post that’s reasonable: “2026 CMAS results show Colorado students making gains in math, falling behind in reading.”

A comparable headline from Chalkbeat, posted May 29 based on preliminary data, reads: “Student math proficiency rises but literacy results are mixed, preliminary Colorado test scores show.”

Spin, spin, spin.