Middle Schools in Weld re-8 schools

Fort Lupton Middle School is the only middle school in Weld Re-8 Schools, serving grades 6–8 in Fort Lupton, Colorado, with an enrollment of 438 students and a student-teacher ratio of 15.1:1. The school serves a predominantly low-income population, with 62.79% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Because there is just one middle school in the district, all district-level middle school comparisons essentially reflect this school’s performance against state benchmarks.

Academically, Fort Lupton Middle School consistently ranks near the bottom of Colorado middle schools, sitting in the 5th percentile for the 2024–2025 school year (ranked 444th out of 469 schools). Test proficiency rates are far below district and state averages: in the 2025–2026 school year, only 9.6% of students were proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) across all grades, compared to 21.3% for the district and 44.7% statewide. Sixth-grade math proficiency was even lower at 6.8%, versus 32.7% statewide. The school also struggles with attendance; 38.2% of students were chronically absent in 2024–2025, well above the district’s 33.1% and the state’s 28.4%. The most recent school-specific dropout rate was 0.9% in 2022–2023, which appears low compared to later district (1.7%) and state (1.6%) figures.

Several trends stand out. ELA proficiency fell sharply from 13.5% in 2024–2025 to 9.6% in 2025–2026, a decline not seen statewide. However, there is a small bright spot: 8th-grade math proficiency was 17.4% in 2024–2025, notably better than the 6th-grade math rate the following year (6.8%), suggesting grade-level variability. The school’s state ranking improved from the 2nd percentile in 2022–2023 to the 7th percentile in 2023–2024 before slipping back to the 5th percentile in 2024–2025. Given the very low test scores, high chronic absenteeism, and poverty levels, Fort Lupton Middle School faces significant challenges that call for targeted support in both academics and attendance.