Summary
Description
Colorado Department of Education – What We Do
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) provides leadership, resources, support, and accountability to the state's 178 school districts, 1,888 schools, over 53,000 teachers, and over 3,200 administrators to help them build capacity to meet the needs of the state's approximately 905,000 public school students. In addition, CDE provides structural and administrative support to the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind and the Charter School Institute.
As the administrative arm of the State Board of Education, CDE is responsible for implementing state and federal education laws, disbursing state and federal funds, holding schools and districts accountable for performance, licensing all educators, and providing public transparency of performance and financial data.
CDE is a values-based agency that serves students, parents, and the general public by protecting public trust through ensuring adherence to laws, strong stewardship of public funds, and accountability for student performance.
CDE strives to incorporate five core values that we uphold in our work internally and externally. If you come to CDE, be prepared to incorporate Integrity, Equity, Accountability, Trust, and commitment to Service in what you do.
The State of Colorado strives to create a Colorado for All by building and maintaining workplaces that value and respect all Coloradans through a commitment to equal opportunity and hiring based on merit and fitness. The State is resolute in non-discriminatory practices in everything we do, including hiring, employment, and advancement opportunities.
Why Work For CDE
The work we do is rewarding and impacts the students, families, educators, and communities across Colorado. Our leadership also promotes a culture that puts families and self-care as a priority. Along with meaningful work and an environment that puts employees first, the state also offers rich benefits that intend to make us an Employer of Choice!
The following is a summary of the benefits we offer:
- Flexible work schedules and flexible workplace options that may include flexible working hours, working from home, working in the office, and/or a hybrid working environment.
- Premier medical, dental, vision, and dependent life insurance options. All with a generous employer contribution keeping employee costs as low as possible.
- Employer paid short-term disability and life insurance
- Up to 160 hours of Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML)
- 11 paid holidays per year
- Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals
- Retirement through the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) www.copera.org
- Employer paid RTD Eco Pass (certain restrictions may apply)
- Paid professional development opportunities
A wide salary range is posted for this position and any job offer is based upon a salary analysis to comply with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act. The salary analysis considers relevant experience, education, certifications, and state seniority as compared to others doing substantially similar work. While most salary offers are made within the posted range, occasionally an offer is made below or above the posted range based upon this salary analysis.
Description of Job
Work Environment:
- Extended hours during the evening or the weekend may be required by business needs
- 10% Travel required Within State of Colorado
- A Remote (Home) office is required
- Required to report to the work location per business needs
- Essential Functions (ADAAA)
- MEDIUM/Office-Work Site Environment:
- Required to sit, view a computer screen, and utilize a keyboard and mouse for extended periods of time
- May be required to exert up to 10 lbs. of force constantly, and/or up to 20 lbs. of force frequently, and/or up to 50 lbs. of force occasionally to move objects (If lifting boxes, documents, mail, or packages of 10 lbs or more)
- Required lifting, bending, stooping, pushing, walking, squatting, climbing, etc.
- May Require exposure to inclement weather, extreme temperatures, high elevations, noise, etc.
- DL Required: Required to safely operate a motor vehicle (OR State of Colorado Fleet motor vehicle/Colorado DL required) to complete travel requirements.
- MEDIUM/Office-Work Site Environment:
Position Summary:
The Assessment Division is responsible for the development, administration, and reporting of statewide summative student assessments in compliance with state and federal laws and best practices related to large scale assessment and the protection of student personally identifiable information and other data. This position is primarily responsible for managing the implementation of the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) program through management and program oversight including coordination and monitoring of vendor activities on a daily basis for quality and timeliness, and for providing administration oversight, customer service, and support to Colorado school districts. The assessment administration specialist works closely with the assessment contractor and the Director of Colorado-Developed Assessments, content, special populations, technology, and data and psychometric specialists to ensure requirements specified in state and federal law are met. This position will provide support to other Colorado state assessment programs as initiated.
Major Duties and Responsibilities:
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
1.) Provide leadership, oversight, and management over all administration aspects of the CMAS math, English language arts, science, and social studies program for students in grades 3 through 8 and 11.
• Develop, maintain, and implement policies and procedures for in-person and remote CMAS administration and management.
• Provide detail-oriented review, revision, and approval of all district assessment coordinator materials, manuals, presentations, guides, communications, forms, and other documents to ensure high quality and consistency, serving as the primary authority over determining final content.
• Coordinate and monitor vendor activities on a daily basis for quality and timeliness to ensure the program stays on-track regarding requirements and schedules.
o Use regular check-ins and planning meetings to hold the vendor accountable for quality of deliverables and to ensure that the program is on schedule.
o Ensure processes are in place to confirm accounting for all students required to participate in testing.
o Maintain documentation of all program activities and schedules.
• Collaborate with others inside and outside of the organization to create effective processes, strategies, trainings, and documents for districts and schools to ensure a successful administration of the CMAS assessments and release of results.
o Coordinate with various CDE units to meet the requirements of assessment administration per state and federal law as well as to meet technical standards.
o Together with the content, special education, multilingual learner, and technology assessment specialists, ensure that all CMAS assessments are ready for high stakes assessment administration across the state in online and paper formats.
o In coordination with the data team, assist in detailed review of annual assessment data files, reports, and results release to districts, schools, families, and the public.
• Provide guidance to districts and parents by way of responsive and effective customer service regarding CDE and vendor systems and activities before, during, and after CMAS assessment administration.
o Assume primary responsibility for ensuring the content and resources on the CDE CMAS website are accurate and kept up to date for districts, parents, and the public.
o Create all CDE communications, resources, and trainings related to the CMAS assessment program.
o Annually create and update CMAS specific guidance and documents related to interpretation of state assessment results.
o Manage and monitor CMAS assessment content on digital platforms hosted by CDE and the vendor.
o Manage the vendor resource and reporting portals and provide effective communication and support to district users in the use and access of vendor resources.
o Serve as the primary authority and knowledge source over the vendor’s online administration and management systems, providing access to appropriate users on an ongoing basis and facilitating integration across CMAS and CoAlt programs and serving as the liaison between school and district needs and the vendor.
o Work with vendor to develop customer survey products when necessary to gain feedback from the field.
• Work with the vendor to provide necessary trainings to district assessment coordinators.
o Develop and facilitate assessment administration and management trainings for district and school level assessment leaders.
o Ensure that all training materials, documents, and other content are accurate and error free and provide information necessary for successful CMAS administration and accessibility of results.
o Develop equitable policies, procedures, and needed flexibilities for testing that meet standardized administration and security requirements.
o Ensure that all students have equal access to needed accessibility features and/or accommodations including Spanish language translations of student and parent facing practice materials, guides, and other resources.
• Anticipate potential program and administration issues and problem-solve unique situations as they arise.
• Collaboratively develop and edit annual assessment contracts.
• Participate in and provide support for procurement and contract activities as required, including drafting, editing, and revising request for proposal (RFP) and other procurement documents, recruitment and identification of educator review committee members, and providing subject matter expertise throughout the procurement process.
• Represent CDE as an assessment authority for various presentations and conferences designed to inform a variety of audiences.
2.) Take primary responsibility for producing, gathering and preparing for submission the documentation of administration activities for compliance with federal assessment peer review requirements, including, but not limited to, the general reading and math assessments for grades 3 through 8, and general and alternate science assessments for grades 5, 8, and 11.
3.) Depending on candidate strengths, additional areas of responsibility may include supporting the review of accommodated testing materials for all assessment division programs; knowledge and facility with the management and test administration systems for all division assessments to provide support to district users.
• Provide program management support for the CoAlt science and social studies assessments.
4.) Other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights
Minimum Requirements:
Applicants must meet the following minimum education and experience requirements:
• Master’s degree in education, educational measurement, assessment, research or related field from an accredited and nationally recognized college or university or highly aligned work experience.
• At least three (3) years' experience in K-12 education.
Competency and Qualification Requirements:
Applicants must show background or skills that demonstrate they meet the following minimum qualifications:
• Three (3) years or more experience in online and paper assessment administration.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. Highly proficient writing skills and attention to detail are critical components of success
for this position. Must be able to demonstrate proficiency with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Strong ability to work successfully as an independent self-starter.
• Ability to represent organizations and interact with a variety of constituents, including demonstrated experience providing quality
customer service, meeting facilitation, presentations, and trainings.
• Proven ability to exercise judgment and discretion in implementing departmental and agency policies and procedures.
• Experience in monitoring contracts and adhering to strict schedules and deliverable timelines, implementing proactive project management techniques to manage complex projects and multiple simultaneous tasks to achieve high stakes/high visibility goals.
• Ability to pass a background check, which includes a motor vehicle records search.
• Ability and willingness to travel.
A highly qualified candidate will also have one or more of the following preferred skills and skills:
• At least five (5) years' experience in program management.
- Project management certification from an accredited and nationally recognized organization.
• Experience with students with diverse learning needs, including students with disabilities and/or multilingual learners.
• Extensive working knowledge of the Colorado Academic Standards and a detailed understanding of the relationship between standards,
assessment, and accountability.
• Experience with large-scale online and paper-based assessment tasks, including development, production, administration, scoring, and reporting. Demonstrated understanding of high-quality assessment design and assessment practices.
• Familiarity with federal and state laws, rules, and policies regarding assessment and accountability as well as current practice and trends in large scale assessments.
• Knowledge of statistics and their interpretations related to assessment development, scoring, and reporting.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish.
Conditions of Employment (Required):
- Must be willing and able to submit to the pre-screening process and pass a background check.
- Ability and willingness to independently determine, obtain means, and complete required travel (percentage 10%)
- Work extended schedule per business needs
- Report to work location per business needs
- Valid Driver's License Required: Required to safely operate a motor vehicle to complete travel requirements.
Supplemental Information
Complete Applications must include:
- Completed Online Application: Required – Submitted through our ATS.
- Cover Letter: Required – Attach
- Resume: Required – Attach
**Failure to submit a complete application as defined above by the announcement close will result in your application being removed from consideration.**
** Resumes and Cover Letters WILL NOT be reviewed for minimum qualification screening.
FOR CURRENT OR FORMER EMPLOYEES OF THE STATE OF COLORADO:
Per the requirements of the Step Pay Program implemented on July 1, 2024, any State employee must be paid a rate that is equal to or greater than the appropriate step pay rate within their classification’s pay range based on completed years in their current class series as of June 30. All current and former State employees must ensure that your entire work history within the State Classified System, including at Institutions of Higher Education, is indicated in your application so that your time-in-series can be calculated accurately.
Email Address:
All correspondence regarding your status in the selection/examination process will be conducted via email. Include a working email address on your application; one that is checked often as time-sensitive correspondence such as exam information or notification will take place via email. Please set up your e-mail to accept messages from "state.co.us" and "info@governmentjobs.com" addresses. It is your responsibility to ensure that your email will accept these notices and/or review your junk mail and spam-filtered email.
Appeal Rights:
If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for the position, you may protest the action by filing an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the date you receive notice of the elimination.
Also, if you wish to challenge the selection and comparative analysis process, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director within 10 days from the receipt of notice or knowledge of the action you are challenging.
Refer to Chapters 4 and 8 of the State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, 4 CCR 801, for more information about the appeals process. The State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures are available at www.colorado.gov/spb.
A standard appeal form is available at: https://spb.colorado.gov/ . If you appeal, your appeal must be submitted in writing on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative, and received at the following address within 10 days of your receipt of notice or knowledge of the action: Colorado State Personnel Board/State Personnel Director, Attn: Appeals Processing, 1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver, CO 80203. Fax: 303-866-5038. Phone: 303-866-3300. The ten-day deadline and these appeal procedures also apply to all charges of discrimination.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and Equal Employment Opportunity
The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them. Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, a medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.
The Colorado Department of Education is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or performing essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to hr@cde.state.co.us.
