Best Public Schools in Aspen, CO

The city of Aspen, Colorado, has three public schools serving grades PK–12 with a total enrollment of 1,422 students: Aspen Elementary School (PK–4), Aspen Middle School (5–8), and Aspen High School (9–12), all part of the highly ranked Aspen School District No. 1, which is rated #4 in Colorado. The three schools share a single campus at 235 High School Road, and there are no alternative schools in the city.

For parents, the standout performer is Aspen High School, which posts a remarkable 97.9% graduation rate, a 0.2% dropout rate, and SAT Reading & Writing proficiency of 86%—far above the state. However, it also has the district’s highest chronic absenteeism rate at 47.7%. Meanwhile, Aspen Elementary School excels in math (55.6% proficient, well above the state’s 37.3%) and has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 24.2%, the only school in the district below the state rate. Aspen Middle School showed strong ELA and science scores in 2024–2025, but its 2025–2026 ELA proficiency dropped to 49.1%, and math sits at 43.9%, both still above state averages but below the district’s elementary performance.

One clear pattern is that chronic absenteeism rises sharply with grade level—24.2% in elementary, 37.8% in middle, and 47.7% in high school. Academically, every reported proficiency score in the district is above the state average, yet math lags behind reading/writing at the secondary level, especially at the high school where the gap is 38 points. Test scores also swing noticeably from year to year, likely reflecting small cohorts. The lack of free/reduced lunch and demographic data limits a full equity analysis, but overall, Aspen’s schools provide strong academics, low student–teacher ratios (all under 13:1), and a cohesive PK–12 experience worth considering.