The Rocky Mountain State is home to a large number of excellent school districts in counties spanning several regions. Of the districts in Colorado’s top ten best, only El Paso County has more than one placing, with a total of three. Judging from the ranking, Colorado’s best schools aren’t all concentrated in one area, but rather are spread out across the state.

Colorado’s best school district is Cheyenne Mountain School District 12, which serves southwestern Colorado Springs, El Paso. Comprising five elementaries, one junior high, one high school and two charter schools, CMSD was rated the top large school district in Colorado for the 8th straight year in the 2017 state accreditation ranking.

The #2 school district in the state is Steamboat Springs School District Re-2, which was recognized as a District of Distinction for the seventh straight year in 2017 by the Colorado board of Education.

Third-ranked Douglas County School District Re-1 is one of the largest districts in the state, with nearly 90 schools and enrollment topping 68,000 in 2016-2017.

Boulder Valley School District No. Re-2 serving Boulder and a number of other communities in unincorporated Boulder County, places fourth, while fifth-ranked Academy School District 20 is the second of two Steamboat Springs districts in the top five.

Methodology

The following contributed to the ranking: student performance (math and reading test scores), dropout rates, school funding, and area poverty rates. Data was collected from a total of 9,577 school districts.

Did your district make the list?