Summary:
Wray, Colorado is served by two public schools within the Wray Rd-2 School District: Wray Elementary School (grades PK–6, 409 students) and Wray Junior Senior High School (grades 7–12, 322 students). Both schools share the same campus at 30160 County Road 35 and serve a combined 731 students, with a majority qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch (63.6% at the elementary, 56.2% at the high school). Student-teacher ratios are favorable at roughly 15:1 in both schools.
Wray Elementary School is the district’s academic standout, ranking in the 58th percentile statewide with math proficiency (40.9%) above both district and state averages, and 5th-grade science proficiency (54.9%) dramatically exceeding the state (36.1%). In contrast, Wray Junior Senior High School ranks in the 41st percentile and struggles with core academics, especially math—only 7th-grade math exceeds the state average, while SAT math proficiency sits at 23% versus 32% statewide. The high school does boast a strong 94.4% graduation rate (state: 85.6%) and low 1.4% dropout rate, but chronic absenteeism is a serious concern: 52.7% of high school students are chronically absent, nearly double the state rate and double the elementary school’s rate.
The most striking pattern is the divergence between the two schools. The elementary school outperforms the high school in ELA (44.2% vs. 37.9%) and math (40.9% vs. 29.5%) despite having a higher poverty rate. Science proficiency collapses from 54.9% in 5th grade to just 20% by 11th grade. Large year-over-year declines, especially a 15-point drop in high school SAT reading/writing, warrant attention. Still, bright spots include strong elementary science, improved 10th-grade PSAT reading/writing, and excellent graduation rates. The district’s biggest opportunity lies in translating elementary success into high school achievement by addressing chronic absenteeism and math proficiency.
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