Summary:
Garfield School District No. Re-2 serves two middle schools—Rifle Middle School and Riverside School—both offering grades 6 through 8 with a combined enrollment of 1,035 students, and the district, located in Colorado, ranks 92nd out of 115 districts at the 20th percentile. Overall, the district is below average in state rankings, but there is substantial variation between its two middle schools.
Riverside School is the clear standout. It ranks at the 53rd percentile with a 3-star rating and performs above the district average in every subject, while Rifle Middle School sits at the 27th percentile with a 1-star rating and falls below district averages across the board. Riverside outperforms Rifle by 14.6 percentage points in English Language Arts, 10.1 points in math, and 11.7 points in science. Chronic absenteeism tells a similar story—Riverside sits at just 7.3% while Rifle is at 16.3%. Poverty rates also track the pattern, with 56.88% of Rifle students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch versus 40.79% at Riverside.
The trends show different trajectories. Riverside made a strong one-year jump in math proficiency from 22.3% to 29.9%, while Rifle is improving at a slower pace in both math and ELA. Rifle's 8th grade is a critical concern: only 18.9% are proficient in ELA, 16.3% in math, and 15.5% in science—its weakest subject. Science is a district-wide worry, with Rifle's 8th-grade science proficiency dropping sharply from 23.4% to 15.5% in one year. For parents, Riverside offers stronger academics and better attendance, while Rifle faces greater economic challenges but is showing steady, if modest, signs of improvement.
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