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Colfax Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

752^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 946 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 21% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Colfax Elementary School is a PK–5 school in Denver, CO, serving 280 students within School District No. 1, a district ranked 71 out of 115 in Colorado with a 2-star rating. The school serves a high-poverty community, with 89.29% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch and a chronic absenteeism rate of 38.9%. Academically, Colfax posted 33.3% proficiency in English Language Arts and 15.3% in Math on the 2025–2026 CMAS, ranking 747 out of 943 Colorado elementary schools (21st percentile) with a 1-star rating.

Despite that low ranking, Colfax is actually a middle performer in its immediate neighborhood, ranking 5th-best among 10 nearby elementary schools. It outperforms Edgewater Elementary School, Barnum Elementary School, Eagleton Elementary School, Cheltenham Elementary School, Cowell Elementary School, and Lumberg Elementary School, while trailing Edison Elementary School, Valdez Elementary School, Brown International Academy, and Newlon Elementary School. Among high-poverty neighbors, Colfax's 33.3% ELA proficiency is the highest—well ahead of Cowell (11.4%), Eagleton (14.9%), Cheltenham (14.0%), and Lumberg (8.0%). Reading is a relative strength: 3rd grade ELA hit 40.9%, essentially matching the state average of 40.8%. Math, however, is a major weakness—4th grade math proficiency is just 6.3% versus the state's 39.0%.

The school's recent trajectory is fragile but real. ELA proficiency has climbed from 20.3% in 2022–2023 to 33.3% in 2025–2026, while math has stalled around 15%. Chronic absenteeism jumped from 29.9% to 38.9% in one year—a significant obstacle since students cannot benefit from instruction they miss. With a 14.4:1 student-teacher ratio, class size is not the differentiator. The school appears to be stabilizing and slowly improving, but high poverty, rising absenteeism, and weak math performance make sustained progress uncertain. The stark contrast with nearby Edison Elementary School—just 1.66 miles away, with 18% poverty and 76% ELA proficiency—illustrates how strongly poverty correlates with school performance in this part of Denver.

280

Students ?

14.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,235

Per pupil spending ?

89.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1526 Tennyson Street
Denver, CO 80204-1230

(720) 424-8740

District: School District No. 1

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

72.5%

African American:

11.1%

White:

10.4%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare Colfax Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 8th percentile in 2014 → 21st in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 13 percentile points since 2014

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (23% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (21st percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (39% vs 28% Colorado)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school23%

District avg38%

Colorado avg41%

752^nd of 946

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 21%▲ up 14 pts since 2016

From bottom 7% (2016) to bottom 21% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

58^th of 99Elementary Schools in the School District No. 1

69^th of 114School District No. 1 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	19.2	752 of 946	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	16.8	781 of 950	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.5	644 of 943	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	10.7	879 of 933	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.8	823 of 965	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.4	781 of 917	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	17.4	768 of 929	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	11.4	854 of 914	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	9.3	912 of 938	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	11.3	883 of 962	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	8.6	886 of 954	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	11.1	838 of 935	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	10.8	841 of 935	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	13.6	814 of 925	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	6.7	823 of 872	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	13.1	754 of 849	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	7.7	795 of 852	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	10.9	741 of 829	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	5.6	782 of 823	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	4.4	771 of 808	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts33%-11 vs state

Math15%-22 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, February 23, 2012

I am disappointed in this school, it seems that a very few are heard here, the school has allot of bullies and no one seems to care, the ranking is low and again no seems to care and secondary it seems to cater to the Spanish speaking community only, all the programs they have are based on Spanish culture and the rest of the students seem to be forgotten, you can't ever get anyone to respond to you with concerns the school board really needs to check in on this school and how it is operated. Close Quote

Schools Near Colfax Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CMAS English Language Arts (2026)					CMAS Math (2026)					CMAS Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CMAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 6th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts All Grades	CMAS Math 3rd Grade	CMAS Math 4th Grade	CMAS Math 5th Grade	CMAS Math 6th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 5th Grade	Total
Colfax Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1526 Tennyson Street	Denver	80204	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-8740	280	19	14.4	89.3%	29 (10.4%)	31 (11.1%)	203 (72.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.6%)	19.2	752^nd of 946 public elementary schools	20.5%		16.8	781^st of 950 public elementary schools	17.8%	29	40.9	30.0	31.0		33.3	29.4	6.3	13.8		15.3	712.0	$21,235
Cowell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4540 West 10th Avenue	Denver	80204	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-8300	308	22	14.1	91.6%	11 (3.6%)	7 (2.3%)	278 (90.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.9%)	2 (0.6%)	4 (1.3%)	5.8	939^th of 946 public elementary schools	0.7%					(n/a)		716.0	13.5		11.4	706.0	7.7	707.0		5.9	8.1	$20,220
Cheltenham Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1580 Julian Street	Denver	80204	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-8810	373	34	11.0	85.3%	23 (6.2%)	86 (23.1%)	234 (62.7%)	1 (0.3%)	6 (1.6%)	10 (2.7%)	13 (3.5%)	6.6	929^th of 946 public elementary schools	1.8%		5.4	943^rd of 950 public elementary schools	0.7%	14	15.0	12.7	14.9		14.0	8.2	7.5	10.6		8.6	13.6	$24,285
Edgewater Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	5570 West 24th Avenue	Edgewater	80214	Jefferson County	Jefferson County School District No. R-1	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 982-6050	335	22	15.4	63.9%	54 (16.1%)	5 (1.5%)	255 (76.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.9%)	16 (4.8%)	15.6	804^th of 946 public elementary schools	15.0%		21.2	721^st of 950 public elementary schools	24.1%	83	28.6	30.8	24.3	25.0	26.7	20.0	17.1	8.1	16.7	15.6	16.7	$18,927
Brown International Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	2550 Lowell Blvd	Denver	80211	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-9250	530	31	17.1	31.3%	325 (61.3%)	23 (4.3%)	129 (24.3%)	10 (1.9%)	3 (0.6%)	9 (1.7%)	31 (5.8%)	72.3	239^th of 946 public elementary schools	74.7%		77.4	208^th of 950 public elementary schools	78.1%	31	59.2	64.4	59.1		60.9	51.3	68.5	40.9		54.0	39.4	$17,382
Eagleton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	880 N Hooker Street	Denver	80204	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-7930	317	26	12.2	87.1%	31 (9.8%)	18 (5.7%)	260 (82.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	7.1	923^rd of 946 public elementary schools	2.4%		9	907^th of 950 public elementary schools	4.5%	16	712.0	722.0	19.4		14.9	9.1	8.3	9.7		9.0	12.9	$23,225
Newlon Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	361 Vrain Street	Denver	80219	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-5150	293	23	12.6	92.5%	13 (4.4%)	5 (1.7%)	265 (90.4%)	3 (1.0%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	21.2	726^th of 946 public elementary schools	23.3%		14.4	816^th of 950 public elementary schools	14.1%	90	21.7	26.3	37.5		30.5	715.0	713.0	25.0		15.5	17.5	$20,049
Lumberg Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	6705 West 22nd Avenue	Edgewater	80214	Jefferson County	Jefferson County School District No. R-1	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 982-6182	526	33	16.1	85.4%	45 (8.6%)	21 (4.0%)	434 (82.5%)	5 (1.0%)	5 (1.0%)	2 (0.4%)	14 (2.7%)	4.4	945^th of 946 public elementary schools	0.1%		6	939^th of 950 public elementary schools	1.2%	6	11.1	12.8	4.8	6.5	8.0	11.4	706.0	706.0	698.0	6.3	696.0	$17,238
Edison Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3350 Quitman Street	Denver	80212	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-7780	583	32	18.1	18.0%	406 (69.6%)	12 (2.1%)	111 (19.0%)	14 (2.4%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	37 (6.3%)	94.4	32^nd of 946 public elementary schools	96.6%		91	64^th of 950 public elementary schools	93.3%	32	70.9	80.3	77.8		76.1	74.7	73.3	69.1		72.4	71.6	$16,231
Barnum Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	85 Hooker Street	Denver	80219	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-9590	334	21	15.6	88.6%	14 (4.2%)	12 (3.6%)	302 (90.4%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	13.9	830^th of 946 public elementary schools	12.3%		14.7	812^th of 950 public elementary schools	14.5%	18	701.0	737.0	25.0		24.4	17.8	21.7	18.2		19.3	14.3	$19,834

Frequently Asked Questions about Colfax Elementary School

Is Colfax Elementary School a good school?

Colfax Elementary School ranks in the bottom 20.5% of Colorado elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Colfax Elementary School?

Students at Colfax Elementary School are 73% Hispanic, 11% African American, 10% White, 4% Two or more races, 3% American Indian.

What schools do graduates of Colfax Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Colfax Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Lake Middle School
High : North High School

What district is Colfax Elementary School in?

School District No. 1

How many students attend Colfax Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 280 students attended Colfax Elementary School.

Rate Colfax Elementary School!

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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.