DENVER - Colorado needs to change the way it tests students to assess their annual progress, put more money into early-childhood education and attract and retain good teachers, a commission recommended Tuesday.

The suggestions from the P-20 Education Coordinating Council represent the third and final set of proposals offered this year by committees at the behest of first-year Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter. Panels examining health care reform and transportation funding submitted preliminary reports earlier this month.

Members of the P-20 Council were asked how to improve the state’s education system from preschool through graduate school and to make the transitions between grade school, high school and college more seamless. The group was told not to consider funding and did not attach a price tag to its recommendations.

It also left some recommendations open-ended, such as the controversial idea of retooling the Colorado Schools Assessment Program, adopted by a vote of 18-10. Rather than suggesting that the state drop the CSAP tests, it said it should incorporate another national testing system, called EPAS, that offers a series of tests over several years and is used to identify areas where specific students need to improve.

Still, members said they hope the recommendations serve as a guideline for change and that legislators push a number of plans forward immediately.

House Education Committee Chairman Mike Merrifield, a Colorado Springs Democrat who served on a council subcommittee, said while all the recommendations need funding, he does not believe there is support to seek a tax hike in 2008. He said he hopes that legislators tweak the budget enough to advance some proposals, especially those calling for the creation of more slots in full-day kindergarten and preschool programs for at-risk kids.

Ritter, who attended the meeting at The Children’s Museum, declined to back any specific plans but hinted at supporting the idea of putting money toward getting 11,500 needy kids off the waiting list for preschool programs.

“These are all good recommendations. I think that some of them are great recommendations that can make really a significant difference,” the governor said.

“We’re not going to be able to incorporate every recommendation into law or policy by the end of the legislative session. This commission is about future generations.”

Council members passed 15 recommendations, 13 of them by unanimous or nearunanimous votes. In addition to the debate on standardized testing, members also split on whether the state should study the creation of different diplomas for students who are college-ready and those who are prepared to enter the work force.

More unanimity surrounded suggestions to increase overall school funding, explore alternative compensation methods to retain teachers and double the amount of counselors in schools to help students choose a path of study and to monitor those most at risk for dropping out.

Merrifield said his greatest concern is that the General Assembly will go for only lowcost reforms that make the least impact of the group.

But with the inclusion of a recommendation to revamp the state assessment program, he predicted legislators will introduce bills to do everything from reforming CSAP tests to doing away with any that are not required by the federal government. The Legislature is likely to be at least as divided on the subject of holding students and teachers accountable as the council was.

“My preference is that we restructure and re-evaluate the entire accountability system,” he said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: (303) 837-0613 or ed.sealover@gazette.com