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Paonia K-8

Public Grades PK, KG-8
289th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 946 Colorado Elementary Schools
Better than 69% of Colorado elementary schools
Summary

Paonia K-8 is a PK-8 school in Paonia, Colorado, serving 247 students in the rural North Fork Valley as part of Delta County Joint District No. 50. The school has a strong track record: for the past decade it consistently ranked between the 77th and 93rd percentiles statewide and earned 4 or 5 stars nearly every year. However, the most recent 2025-26 results show a notable dip to the 69th percentile (3 stars) — the school's lowest ranking in over a decade. What makes this decline surprising is that it isn't explained by demographics or staffing: free/reduced lunch eligibility has held steady around 58%, and the student-teacher ratio of 14.6 hasn't budged.

Academically, Paonia remains a strong performer, especially in math. In 2025-26, 57% of students scored proficient in ELA (vs. 44.7% statewide) and 51.3% in math (vs. 37.3% statewide). The math advantage is dramatic in middle grades: 75% of 4th graders, 57.9% of 6th graders, and 48.8% of 8th graders were proficient, beating district and state rates by wide margins. 8th grade science is also consistently strong, exceeding state averages by 11 to 25 points over the past three years. Nearby schools like Hotchkiss Elementary School (48th percentile) and Cedaredge Elementary School (63rd percentile) remain behind Paonia (69th percentile), but the gap is narrowing — Cedaredge has been improving while Paonia has slipped.

The clearest red flags are early literacy and attendance. Only 25% of 3rd graders were proficient in ELA in 2025-26 — well below the state rate of 40.8% and the only grade level where Paonia lags badly. Meanwhile, chronic absenteeism jumped from 27.4% to 39.5%, far above the district rate of 26.1% and the state rate of 28.4%. This is notably worse than the co-located North Fork School of Integrated Studies (20.6%) and North Fork Montessori @ Crawford (8.2%). Addressing attendance and early-grade reading will be critical to restoring Paonia's historic standing, but the school continues to outperform expectations given its poverty level — a sign that its core academic strengths remain intact.

247
Students ?
14.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$16,513
Per pupil spending ?
58.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 430 Box Elder
       Paonia, CO  81428-6307

(970) 527-3639

District: Delta County Joint District No. 50


Students who attend Paonia K-8 usually attend:

Middle:    Cedaredge Middle School
    Delta Middle School
High:    Cedaredge High School
    Delta High School
    Grand Mesa Choice Academy
    North Fork High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
81.4%
Hispanic:
10.9%
Two or more races:
5.7%
more
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At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 86th percentile in 2016 → 69th in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Colorado average (52% vs 40% meeting standards)
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Delta County Joint District No. 50
✓Above the Colorado median (69th percentile)
Worth a look
!High chronic absenteeism (40% vs 28% Colorado)
!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2016
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school52%
District avg38%
Colorado avg40%
Elementary school
289th of 946
Colorado public elementary schools ?
Top 31%▼ down 17 pts since 2016
From top 14% (2016) to top 31% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
110th of 476
Colorado public middle schools ?
Top 23%▼ down 10 pts since 2023
From top 13% (2023) to top 23% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
1st of 5Elementary Schools in the Delta County Joint District No. 50
36th of 114Delta County Joint District No. 50 among Colorado districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202667.5289 of 94669.5%★★★☆☆
202576.0218 of 95077.1%★★★★☆
202483.4135 of 94385.7%★★★★☆
202380.6159 of 93383.0%★★★★☆
202279.6177 of 92180.8%★★★★☆
202191.852 of 71092.7%★★★★★
201982.6139 of 96585.6%★★★★☆
201883.8133 of 91785.5%★★★★☆
201781.7144 of 92984.5%★★★★☆
201683.0125 of 91486.3%★★★★☆
201588.282 of 93891.3%★★★★★
201477.6195 of 96279.7%★★★★☆
201377.5204 of 95478.6%★★★★☆
201277.8186 of 93580.1%★★★★☆
201185.8104 of 93588.9%★★★★☆
201080.6158 of 92582.9%★★★★☆
200974.9207 of 87276.3%★★★★☆
200871.9234 of 84972.4%★★★★☆
200766.7304 of 85264.3%★★★☆☆
200667.4290 of 82965.0%★★★☆☆
200580.1133 of 82383.8%★★★★☆
200466.4287 of 80864.5%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202554.1251 of 55154.4%★★★☆☆
202479.675 of 53986.1%★★★★☆
202354.4239 of 52554.5%★★★☆☆
202184.944 of 28884.7%★★★★☆
201974.2122 of 59679.5%★★★★☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202675.4110 of 47676.9%★★★★☆
202573.3110 of 46976.5%★★★★☆
202484.460 of 48587.6%★★★★☆
202383.562 of 48087.1%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202664.6117 of 36868.2%★★★☆☆
202590.522 of 34793.7%★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202594.25 of 24197.9%★★★★★

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202668.0105 of 37271.8%★★★★☆
202569.888 of 35275.0%★★★★☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
White (2025)54th percentile-23 vs school
Middle school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)98th percentile+21 vs school
Male (2026)72nd percentile-5 vs school
Female (2026)68th percentile-9 vs school
By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts57%+12 vs state
Math51%+14 vs state
Science42%+6 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Paonia K-8

In the 2024-25 school year, 247 students attended Paonia K-8.

Paonia K-8 ranks 289th of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students who attend Paonia K-8 usually go on to attend:

Middle : Cedaredge Middle School
Middle : Delta Middle School
High : Cedaredge High School
High : Delta High School
High : Grand Mesa Choice Academy
High : North Fork High School

Students at Paonia K-8 are 81% White, 11% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races.

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Schools in Paonia, CO

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Latest Colorado data All new data »
2025–26 CMAS, PSAT10, PSAT9 & SAT test scoresAug 19, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026
2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 13, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataAug 27, 2025


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Colorado Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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