Palmer High School

Palmer High School is a large comprehensive public high school in downtown Colorado Springs, CO, serving 1,265 students in grades 9–12 as part of Colorado Springs School District No. 11. The school currently holds a 1-star rating and ranks in the bottom quarter of Colorado high schools. Academically, Palmer falls below state averages in nearly every tested subject, with SAT math proficiency particularly low at 13% compared to the state's 32%. Reading and writing scores are also below state levels, though less dramatically, with 45% proficiency versus the state's 60%.

Math is Palmer's clearest academic weakness. Only 13% of 11th graders were proficient on the SAT math section, compared to 20% districtwide and 32% statewide. Nearby Coronado High School posts 31% proficiency, Odyssey Early College and Career Options posts 36%, and The Vanguard School (High) posts an extraordinary 80%. Science is a relative bright spot—Palmer's 11th-grade CMAS science proficiency is 23.9%, essentially at the state average of 24.8%. The school also faces significant challenges with chronic absenteeism, reporting a rate of 65.4% in 2024-2025, far above the district's already-high 45.8% and the state's 28.4%. The student-teacher ratio is high as well, at 22.6-to-1.

There are positive signs. Palmer's graduation rate has improved steadily from 72.1% in 2022-2023 to 82.2% in 2024-2025, above the district rate of 76.7%. Dropout rates have fallen to 1.5%, essentially matching the state average. The school's 61.4% free/reduced lunch rate is higher than some nearby schools, providing important context for its outcomes. However, the combination of low math scores, high absenteeism, and low performance across nearly all student subgroups—including gifted students—suggests the school needs targeted intervention to return to the mid-level rankings it held before the pandemic.