Summary:
The city of Palisade, Colorado is home to two schools - Palisade High School and Taylor Elementary School, both part of the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51. While Palisade High School maintains a 3-star rating, Taylor Elementary stands out as the higher-performing school in the area, earning a 4-star rating and ranking 212 out of 950 Colorado elementary schools.
Taylor Elementary consistently outperforms the district and state averages on CMAS English Language Arts, Math, and Science assessments. The school also has a lower chronic absenteeism rate and a more favorable student-teacher ratio of 14.8 compared to Palisade High School's 18.3. Additionally, Taylor Elementary has a lower free/reduced lunch rate of 44.85%, indicating a relatively more affluent student population compared to the high school's 51.36%.
In contrast, Palisade High School's academic performance is more mixed, with its ranking declining from 134th in the state in 2022-2023 to 158th in 2024-2025. While the high school maintains a 84.2% four-year graduation rate and a 1.9% dropout rate, its test scores are more varied, with some areas above the district and state averages but others below. These findings suggest that Taylor Elementary is the standout school in the Palisade area, while Palisade High School may have room for improvement, particularly in mathematics and science.
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