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Colorado Department of Education

SchoolView: School and District Data from the Colorado Department of Education

State Snapshot

Colorado State Education Snapshot

Updated March 2024


The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) provides this synopsis of commonly requested Colorado education facts and figures.


# of School Districts

179

# of
Schools

1,927

# of
Students

881,464

# of
BOCES

6

# of Charter Schools

264

# of Charter Students

135,223

Dropout
Rate

2.2%

4-Year
Grad Rate*

82.3%

Attendance
Rate

95.1%

* See the Summary Information section for more details on 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-year grad rates.

Colorado Public School Performance Plan Types
School Year 2023-2024
'Performance Plan,Improvement Plan,Priority Improvement Plan,Turnaround Plan,Insufficient Data'

School
District
State translated

Colorado Public School Performance Plan Types, 2023-2024
Category Schools with Plan Type
Performance Plan 58%
Improvement Plan 20%
Priority Improvement Plan 9%
Turnaround Plan 2%
Insufficient Data 8%
New Schools <1%
Closed Schools 2%
Colorado Public School Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity
School Year 2023-2024


School
District
State translated

Enrollment by Race and Ethnicity for School Year 2022-2023
Category Enrolled Students
American Indian or
Alaska Native
0.6%
Asian 3.2%
Black 4.6%
Hispanic 35%
Native Hawaiian or Other
Pacific Islander
0.3%
Two or More Races 5.1%
White 51.2%


Key Facts

  • Enrollment: Colorado public school PK-12 enrollment in 2023-24 was the lowest in a decade at 881,464.
  • Graduation: The 4-year graduation rate in 2023 was 83.1%, the highest it has been in nearly a decade.
  • Rural: Out of 179 districts, 36 meet the definition of rural, 110 meet the definition of small rural.
  • Charter and Online: In 2023-24, 135,223 students were enrolled in charter schools and 31,839 students in online schools.
  • Homeschool: In 2023-24 students counted as homeschooled full-time increased by 8.44% to 9,406 students.
  • Special Education: Colorado public schools educate over 113,992 students in special education.
  • English Learners: Colorado public schools educate over 114,509 English learners.
  • School Performance: 61.8% of schools are on a performance plan, 21.3% are on an improvement plan, 7.1% are on a priority improvement plan, and 1.8% are on a turnaround plan.

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State Summary Information

Staff and Classroom Information

Statewide Summary Information Data Table
Category 2022-23 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20
Student Enrollment 881,464 886,517 883,199 913,223
Pupil / Teacher Ratio 17:1 17:1 16:6 17:1
Average Per Pupil Funding $9,596 $9,014 $7,985 $8,480
# Teachers 55,197 55,511 55,842 55,641
# Principals / Assistant Principals 3,718 3,662 3,611 3,537
# Superintendents / Assistant Superintendents and BOCES Directors 623 525 587 559

Graduation Information

Statewide Graduation Information Data Table
Category AYG 2021/2022
Began 9th grade in 2019
AYG 2020/2021
Began 9th grade in 2018
AYG 2019/2020
Began 9th grade in 2017
AYG 2018/2019
Began 9th grade in 2016
Graduation Rate (4 Year) 82.3% 81.7% 81.9% 81.1%
Graduation Rate (5 Year) -- 85.7% 86% 85.1%
Graduation Rate (6 Year) -- -- 87.1% 86.6%
Graduation Rate (7 Year) -- -- -- 87.2%

AYG means Anticipated Year of Graduation, or the anticipated year that a student will graduate high school, which is 4 years after the year they start 9th grade. This is sometimes referred to as "Class of".

Financial Information

Statewide Financial Information Data Table
Funding Source 2022 2021 2020 2019
General Fund $4,294,161,543 $4,009,781,369 $4,413,841,994 $4,116,143,086
Cash Funds $1,469,771,240 $1,081,772,606 $1,111,463,635 $1,146,052,221
Reappropriated Funds $47,339,278 $39,999,728 $42,577,029 $39,385,509
Federal Funds $620,755,044 $777,581,096 $1,128,920,698 $656,580,470
Full Time Equiv. Staff 614.4 609 616.4 602.5
Total Funds $6,432,027,105 $5,909,134,799 $6,696,803,356 $5,918,775,777

Suspension and Expulsion Information

Total Suspensions and Expulsions (District)
Incident Type

Suspensions

Expulsions

Referred To Law Enforcement

Other Action Taken

Drug Violations 1,721 52 205 158
Alcohol Violations 856 23 125 67
Tobacco Violations 4,611 6 140 712
First 2nd Or Vehicular Assault 114 15 20 15
Third Degree Assaults Disorderly Conduct 4,911 55 398 307
Dangerous Weapons 827 155 152 49
Robbery 92 7 9 15
Other Felony 81 20 9 10
Disobedient Defiant Or Repeated Interference 15,379 30 73 7,414
Detrimental Behavior 29,627 214 604 6,337
Destruction Of School Property 1,639 8 96 497
Marijuana Violation 3,843 126 581 266
Sexual Violence 32 5 9 11
Other Code Of Conduct Violations 19,681 78 825 253
Total Incidents 83,414 794 3,246 16,111

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District Information

District Stats for 2021-22

179 Districts

  • 110 of the 179 meet the definition of small rural*
  • 36 of the 179 meet the definition of rural**
  • These 146 (81.5% of total districts) rural districts comprise only 15% (132,362) of the total

PK-12 population in the state

  • 90 districts have fewer than 500 students

* Small rural districts have fewer than 1,000 students.

** Rural school districts are located a certain distance from large urban areas and have 6,500 students or less.


2022-23 District Accreditation Ratings

(Frameworks paused in 2019-20 and 2020-21 due to COVID-19. Note that 2022-23 was a Transitional year as there were some key differences in the calculation of frameworks.)

Statewide District Accreditation Ratings Data Table
Category Number of Districts Percent of Districts
Accredited with Distinction 11 6%
Accredited 50 27%
Accredited with an Improvement Plan 40 22%
Accredited with a Priority Improvement Plan 10 5%
Accredited with a Turnaround Plan 1 0.5%
Insufficient State Data 72 39%

Districts Implementing Seal of Biliteracy Diplomas

A Seal of Biliteracy is a credential given by a Colorado school or district recognizing students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation. These Colorado districts and schools are currently recognizing students' skills in biliteracy:

  • Adams 12 Five Star Schools
  • Adams County 14 School District
  • Aurora Public Schools
  • Bayfield 10 JT-R School District
  • Boulder Valley RE-2 School District:
    • Astravo Online Academy
    • Colorado Virtual Academy
    • Private-Regis Jesuit High School
  • Cherry Creek School District 5
  • Cheyenne Mountain School District 12
  • Colorado Charter School Institute:
    • Colorado Early Colleges - Aurora
    • Colorado Early Colleges - Fort Collins
    • Colorado Early Colleges - Windsor
    • Colorado Early Colleges - Colorado Springs
    • Colorado Early Colleges - Douglas County
    • Colorado Early Colleges - Homeschool Academy
    • Colorado Early Colleges - Online Campus
    • Independent School
    • New America School - Lowry Campus
  • Colorado Springs School District 11
  • Denver County 1:
    • Mullen High School
  • District 49 (Falcon)
  • Douglas County School District RE-1:
    • Vail Mountain School
  • Eagle County Schools
  • East Grand School District 2
  • Ellicott School District 22
  • Estes Park School District R-3
  • Fort Morgan School District
  • Greeley Evans School District 6:
    • Colorado Academy - ACIS Accredited Independent School
  • Jefferson County School District R-1
  • Lake County R-1 School District
  • Lewis-Palmer School District
  • Littleton Public Schools
  • Mesa School District 51
  • Moffat County School District RE: No 1
  • North Park School District
  • Poudre School District R-1
  • Rio Grande County School District
  • Roaring Fork Schools
  • Sargent School District RE-33J/Rio Grande County School District
  • School District 27J
  • Sheridan School District #2
  • South Routt School District RE-3
  • St. Vrain Valley School District
  • Steamboat Springs School District RE-2
  • Summit School District
  • Telluride R-1
  • Thompson School District
  • Westminster Public Schools

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School Information

School Stats for 2021-22

1,927 schools:

  • 1,116 elementary schools
  • 289 middle schools
  • 522 high schools

Charter, Innovation and Online Schools

  • 264 charter schools serving approximately 135,223 students (PK-12)
  • 45 districts authorize charter schools in Colorado (including Charter School Institute)
  • 97 innovation schools serving approximately 43,811 students (PK-12)
  • 38 online schools serving 31,839 (PK-12)

2022-23 School Plan Types

(Frameworks paused in 2019-20 and 2020-21 due to COVID-19. Note that 2022-23 was a Transitional year as there were some key differences in the calculation of frameworks.)

Statewide School Plan Types Data Table
Category Number of Schools Percent of Schools
Performance Plan 1,061 56.6%
Improvement Plan 327 17.4%
Priority Improvement Plan 120 6.4%
Turnaround Plan 40 2.1%
Insufficient State Data 309 16.5%

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Student Information

Enrollment by School

Enrollment by School Data Table
Category 2022-23 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20
Total Enrollment ** 881,464 886,517 883,199 913,223
Elementary School * 404,379 404,193 398,611 426,253
Middle School * 197,064 201,570 206,037 209,994
High School * 281,656 280,613 278,424 276,976

* Elementary (PK-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

** Numbers include BOCES, detention centers and alternative schools.


Enrollment by Race/Ethnicty

Statewide Enrollment by Race and Ethnicity Data Table
Category 2022-23 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20
Total Enrollment * 881,464 886,517 5,849 6,210
American Indian or Alaska Native Enrollment 5,475 5,742 5,849 6,210
Asian Enrollment 28,640 28,214 28,425 29,209
Black or African American Enrollment 40,198 40,229 40.424 41,554
Hispanic or Latino Enrollment 308,739 306,215 301,887 309,972
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Enrollment 2,657 2,578 2,453 2,433
Two or More Races Enrollment 45,042 43,353 40,913 40,794
White Enrollment 452,513 460,186 463,330 483,051

* Numbers include BOCES, detention centers and alternative schools.


Enrollment by Instructional Program Service Type

Enrollment by Instructional Program Data Table
Category 2022-23 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20
Total Enrollment * 881,464 886,517 883,199 913,223
Gifted & Talented 64,599 62,552 65,493 66,983
Special Education 109,623 105,399 104,612 106,238
Online 30,799 31,382 32,034 22,448
English Learners 109,809 109,581 113,849 123,248
Immigrant 10,925 9,876 9,937 11,800
Migrant 1,201 2,203 2,825 2,823
Title 1 213,267 220,648 223,702 230,286

* Numbers include BOCES, detention centers and alternative schools.


4 Year Graduation Rate by Race/Ethnicity

Statewide 4 Year On-time Graduation Rate by Race and Ethnicity Data Table
Category 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20
Total Graduation Rate (4 Year) 82.3% 81.7% 81.9%
American Indian or Alaska Native Grad Rate 65.4% 64.5% 66.7%
Asian Grad Rate 93% 91.5% 91.2%
Black Grad Rate 77.4% 76.0% 76.6%
Hispanic or Latino Grad Rate 75.1% 74.2% 75.4%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Grad Rate 61.1% 76.5% 72.8%
Two or More Races Grad Rate 81.3% 81.6% 82.3%
White Grad Rate 87.3% 86.6% 86.0%

4 Year Graduation Rate by Instructional Program Service Type

Statewide 4 Year On-time Graduation Rate by Instructional Program Service Type Data Table
Category 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20
Total Graduation Rate (4 Year) 82.3% 81.7% 81.9%
Students w / Disabilities Grad Rate 67.9% 66.4% 61.8%
English Learners Grad Rate 69.4% 67.5% 70.2%
Economically Disadvantaged Grad Rate 71.9% 70.6% 72.3%
Foster Grad Rate 30.0% 30.5% 30.5%
Migrant Grad Rate 69.0% 67.0% 71.7%
Military Connected Grad Rate 89.7% 88.3% 89.5%
Title 1 Grad Rate 66.9% 64.0% 65.4%
Homeless Grad Rate 55.4% 53.6% 56.7%
Gifted and Talented Grad Rate 94.6% 94.2% 94.2%

Annual Dropout Rate by Race and Ethnicity

Statewide Dropout Rate by Race and Ethnicity Data Table
Category 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20
All Students Dropout Rate 2.2% 1.8% 1.8%
American Indian or Alaska Native Dropout Rate 5.1% 3.2% 4.0%
Asian Dropout Rate 0.8% 0.5% 0.7%
Black or African American Dropout Rate 3% 2.6% 2.8%
Hispanic or Latino Dropout Rate 3.5% 2.8% 2.8%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Dropout Rate 3.9% 2.3% 3.9%
Two or More Races Dropout Rate 2.2% 1.6% 1.6%
White Dropout Rate 1.3% 1.1% 1.1%

*Includes alternative schools


Annual Dropout Rate by Instructional Program Service Type

Statewide Dropout Rate by Instructional Program Service Type Data Table
Category 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20
All Students Dropout Rate 2.2% 1.8% 1.8%
Students with Disabilities Dropout Rate 2.5% 2% 2.1%
English Learners Dropout Rate 4.4% 3.5% 3.4%
Economically Disadvantages Dropout Rate 3.3% 2.5% 2.6%
Migrant Dropout Rate 5.6% 2.7% 3.1%
Title I Dropout Rate 4.3% 3.2% 3.4%
Homeless Dropout Rate 5.2% 4.7% 4.9%
Gifted and Talented Dropout Rate 0.4% 0.4% 0.4%

*Includes alternative schools

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About this website:

Colorado Dept. of Education
201 East Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80203

Phone: 303-866-6600
Contact CDE

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