Best Public Schools in Brighton, CO

Summary:

The city of Brighton, Colorado is home to 18 schools across two school districts - Adams 12 Five Star Schools and School District 27J. The schools include 10 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 5 high schools, and 1 alternative school, serving students from early childhood through 12th grade.

Among the standout schools in Brighton are Horizon High School, which is the highest ranked high school in the city, receiving 4 out of 5 stars from SchoolDigger and ranking 89th out of 349 Colorado high schools. Foundations Academy, a charter elementary/middle school, has the highest test scores in the city, with over 40% of students proficient or better in CMAS English Language Arts and Science. Glacier Peak Elementary also stands out with above-average test scores in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district.

The data reveals a significant gap in academic performance between the highest and lowest performing schools in Brighton. Schools with higher rates of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, such as Southeast Elementary and Northeast Elementary, tend to have lower test scores. Additionally, the charter schools in the area generally outperform the traditional public schools in the same districts.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				PSAT10 Reading and Writing (2025)	PSAT10 Mathematics (2025)	PSAT9 Reading and Writing (2025)	PSAT9 Mathematics (2025)	SAT Reading and Writing (2025)	SAT Mathematics (2025)	CMAS English Language Arts (2025)							CMAS Math (2025)							CMAS Science (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSAT10 Reading and Writing 10th Grade	PSAT10 Mathematics 10th Grade	PSAT9 Reading and Writing 9th Grade	PSAT9 Mathematics 9th Grade	SAT Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 6th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 7th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 8th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts All Grades	CMAS Math 3rd Grade	CMAS Math 4th Grade	CMAS Math 5th Grade	CMAS Math 6th Grade	CMAS Math 7th Grade	CMAS Math 8th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 5th Grade	CMAS Science 8th Grade	CMAS Science 11th Grade	Total
Ascent Classical Academy of Northern Denver	Public, Charter	K-8	1800 E Longs Peak St	Brighton	80601	Adams County	State Charter School Institute	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(720) 541-9809	305	17	18.0		200 (65.6%)	0 (0.0%)	84 (27.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (6.6%)	37.1	555^th of 950 public elementary schools	41.6%		32.9	580^th of 943 public elementary schools	38.5%	25							17.9	39.3	34.6	45.0	63.6	42.1	39.2	29.6	28.6	46.2		22.7		26.1	38.5	26.3		$11,889
Brighton High School	Public	9-12	270 South 8th Avenue	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	No	(303) 655-4200	1,733	90	19.2	55.7%	627 (36.2%)	20 (1.2%)	1,021 (58.9%)	15 (0.9%)	6 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	43 (2.5%)	21.8	260^th of 328 public high schools	20.7%		24.2	259^th of 349 public high schools	25.8%	1	49.0	18.0	48.0	22.0	49.0	17.0																	16.0	$13,250
Northeast Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1605 Longspeak	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 655-2550	470	31	15.3	78.7%	56 (11.9%)	5 (1.1%)	396 (84.3%)	5 (1.1%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.3%)	11.8	859^th of 950 public elementary schools	9.6%		9.4	896^th of 943 public elementary schools	5.0%	37							18.8	14.9	25.8				19.7	16.7	9.0	22.6				15.9	13.1			$15,431
South Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	305 South 5th Avenue	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 655-2600	337	23	14.6	85.5%	33 (9.8%)	3 (0.9%)	293 (86.9%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	4 (1.2%)	12.6	848^th of 950 public elementary schools	10.7%					(n/a)							16.4	21.7	28.3				22.1	18.2	10.9	20.8				16.9	9.4			$17,108
Southeast Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1595 Southern Street	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 866-2650	527	32	16.4	73.8%	105 (19.9%)	5 (0.9%)	399 (75.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.8%)	11.9	857^th of 950 public elementary schools	9.8%		14.7	813^th of 943 public elementary schools	13.8%	44							16.9	21.6	22.2				20.1	15.4	10.8	17.5				14.4	18.8			$14,932
Vikan Middle School	Public	6-8	879 Jessup Street	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	No	(303) 655-4050	528	40	13.0	71.0%	143 (27.1%)	5 (0.9%)	359 (68.0%)	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (2.7%)	15.5	404^th of 469 public middle schools	13.9%		11.9	438^th of 485 public middle schools	9.7%	34										24.1	21.8	18.2	21.5				16.8	14.3	16.1	15.8		17.4		$14,066
Innovations & Options	Public	6-12	830 Bridge Street	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	No	(303) 655-2850	235	17	13.7		56 (23.8%)	5 (2.1%)	167 (71.1%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.1%)								(n/a)	44.0																							$14,533
Overland Trail Middle School	Public	6-8	455 North 19th Avenue	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	No	(303) 655-4000	581	40	14.5	70.4%	139 (23.9%)	8 (1.4%)	408 (70.2%)	13 (2.2%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (1.0%)	10.4	440^th of 469 public middle schools	6.2%		8.6	461^st of 485 public middle schools	4.9%	21										21.5	20.9	13.9	19.0					8.9		7.6		11.9		$14,499
Bromley East Charter School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	356 Longspur Drive	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	Yes	No	No	No	(720) 685-3297	1,214	42	28.6	39.5%	568 (46.8%)	17 (1.4%)	566 (46.6%)	16 (1.3%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	44 (3.6%)	22.1	708^th of 950 public elementary schools	25.5%		18.5	761^st of 943 public elementary schools	19.3%	53							25.6	31.4	28.1	26.0	25.6	21.7	26.6	26.6	26.4	23.6	16.7	13.7	21.5	21.4	23.8			$11,544
Mary E Pennock Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3707 Estrella Street	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	No	(720) 685-7500	592	38	15.7	59.8%	210 (35.5%)	7 (1.2%)	348 (58.8%)	12 (2.0%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	11 (1.9%)	37.6	550^th of 950 public elementary schools	42.1%		26.4	655^th of 943 public elementary schools	30.5%	105							35.0	33.6	32.3				33.6	41.3	35.2	37.6				37.7	30.1			$12,461
Prairie Vista Youth Services Center	Public, Alternative	4-12	192 Bromley Business Parkway	Brighton	80603	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	No	(303) 659-4450	32	5	7.1	43.8%	7 (21.9%)	3 (9.4%)	19 (59.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (9.4%)								(n/a)																								$3,742
Foundations Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	340 South 45th Avenue	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	Yes	No	No	No	(303) 659-9519	763	16	47.9	36.2%	386 (50.6%)	4 (0.5%)	342 (44.8%)	8 (1.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (2.8%)	42.2	515^th of 950 public elementary schools	45.8%		39.2	534^th of 943 public elementary schools	43.4%	19							40.3	33.3	33.3	44.6	42.5	35.1	38.3	37.5	29.5	29.2	40.5	38.9	35.7	35.1	43.1	28.6		$12,762
Eagle Ridge Academy	Public, Charter	9-12	3551 Southern Street	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	Yes	No	No	No	(303) 345-4380	593	24	25.2	40.6%	260 (43.8%)	15 (2.5%)	293 (49.4%)	9 (1.5%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.4%)	42	185^th of 328 public high schools	43.6%		51.4	161^st of 349 public high schools	53.9%	24	58.0	24.0	60.0	22.0	79.0	29.0																	31.6	$10,919
Elaine S. Padilla Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5505 Longs Peak Street	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	No	No	(303) 655-5100	672	35	19.1	48.2%	213 (31.7%)	15 (2.2%)	415 (61.8%)	7 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	19 (2.8%)	39.4	530^th of 950 public elementary schools	44.2%		31.5	597^th of 943 public elementary schools	36.7%	67							38.5	33.3	43.9				38.4	36.5	39.8	27.2				34.8	31.7			$12,851
27J Online Academy	Public, Virtual	6-12	89 N. 6th Avenue	Brighton	80601	Adams County	School District 27J	No	No	Yes	No	(303) 655-2527	336	21	16.0		85 (25.3%)	8 (2.4%)	219 (65.2%)	12 (3.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	10 (3.0%)								(n/a)					41.0																			$12,693
Horizon High School	Public	9-12	5321 East 136th Avenue	Brighton	80602	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-4400	1,966	98	20.1	33.1%	1,041 (53.0%)	25 (1.3%)	691 (35.1%)	97 (4.9%)	6 (0.3%)	3 (0.2%)	102 (5.2%)	69.6	102^nd of 328 public high schools	68.9%		67.4	103^rd of 349 public high schools	70.5%	1	70.0	45.0	75.0	50.0	70.0	44.0																	31.3	$14,150
Glacier Peak Elementary School	Public	K-5	12060 Jasmine Street	Brighton	80605	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5940	412	25	16.8	47.6%	167 (40.5%)	6 (1.5%)	189 (45.9%)	29 (7.0%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.4%)	27.8	638^th of 950 public elementary schools	32.8%		38	542^nd of 943 public elementary schools	42.5%	96							19.7	40.7	40.8				33.2	14.5	28.8	28.6				23.4	31.0			$16,204

Cities Near Brighton

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Henderson	3.2 mi	5	166^th
Thornton	3.8 mi	40	141^st
Lochbuie	4.81 mi	2	183^rd
Commerce City	4.92 mi	23	176^th
Fort Lupton	7.72 mi	6	192^nd

See the top CO Colorado cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Colorado Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.