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University Park Elementary School

Q: Is University Park Elementary School a good school?

University Park Elementary School ranks 117 th of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

117^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 946 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 88% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

University Park Elementary School is a K-5 public school in Denver, Colorado, serving 413 students as part of School District No. 1 — a district rated just 2 stars — yet the school itself earned 4 stars in 2025-2026, ranking 116th of 943 Colorado elementary schools and placing in the 88th percentile statewide.

Academically, University Park far outperforms district and state averages in every subject. In English Language Arts, 65.9% of students are proficient versus 42.5% districtwide and 44.7% statewide; in math, 63.5% versus 35.0% and 37.3%; and in 5th-grade science, 77.1% versus 33.2% and 36.1%. That science score — more than double the state average and up from 38.8% just three years earlier — is one of the school's most distinctive strengths. Test scores also climb steadily through the grades, with 5th graders reaching 77.1% proficiency in ELA and 77.6% in math. Among nearby schools, Slavens K-8 School and Creativity Challenge Community post slightly higher overall scores, but University Park clearly outpaces Bradley International School, Highline Academy Southeast, Charles Hay World School, Holly Hills Elementary School, and Ellis Elementary School by wide margins.

Attendance is another key differentiator. University Park's chronic absenteeism rate of 13.9% is less than half the state rate (28.4%) and roughly one-third of the district rate (38.1%), improving sharply from 21.3% the prior year. Nearby schools with the lowest absenteeism — Slavens (4.4%), Cory Elementary School (10.2%), and Creativity Challenge (11.0%) — also have the highest test scores, while high-absenteeism schools like Ellis (49.6%) and Holly Hills (41.9%) lag far behind. University Park achieves these results while serving a more economically diverse student body (28.6% free/reduced lunch) than Slavens (13.3%) or Creativity Challenge (14.4%). In statewide subgroup rankings, the school is particularly strong for female students, though its Gifted and Talented ranking dipped recently — a statistic worth monitoring, since small cohort sizes can cause volatility.

413

Students ?

15.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$17,805

Per pupil spending ?

28.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2300 South St Paul Street
Denver, CO 80210-5536

(720) 424-3410

District: School District No. 1

Students who attend University Park Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Merrill Middle School
High:	South High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

65.1%

Hispanic:

17.2%

African American:

5.8%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare University Park Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 90th percentile in 2016 → 88th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Colorado average (66% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 12% of Colorado elementary schools

✓Among the top-ranked schools in School District No. 1

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school66%

District avg38%

Colorado avg41%

117^th of 946

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Top 12%▼ down 2 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

17^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	86.1	117 of 946	87.6%	★★★★☆
2025	89.3	80 of 950	91.6%	★★★★★
2024	82.8	144 of 943	84.7%	★★★★☆
2023	81.2	154 of 933	83.5%	★★★★☆
2022	87.3	94 of 921	89.8%	★★★★☆
2021	79.4	160 of 710	77.5%	★★★★☆
2019	85.6	112 of 965	88.4%	★★★★☆
2018	90.0	70 of 917	92.4%	★★★★★
2017	91.9	55 of 929	94.1%	★★★★★
2016	86.6	93 of 914	89.8%	★★★★☆
2015	87.1	94 of 938	90.0%	★★★★★
2014	82.7	141 of 962	85.3%	★★★★☆
2013	78.7	187 of 954	80.4%	★★★★☆
2012	77.1	195 of 935	79.1%	★★★★☆
2011	75.3	218 of 935	76.7%	★★★★☆
2010	70.6	275 of 925	70.3%	★★★★☆
2009	73.9	219 of 872	74.9%	★★★★☆
2008	69.5	259 of 849	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2007	61.0	362 of 852	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2006	59.9	368 of 829	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2005	56.7	392 of 823	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2004	57.9	372 of 808	54.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	83.5	83 of 695	88.1%	★★★★☆
2025	75.2	137 of 694	80.3%	★★★★☆
2024	74.6	140 of 684	79.5%	★★★★☆
2023	79.0	109 of 642	83.0%	★★★★☆
2022	83.5	77 of 595	87.1%	★★★★☆
2019	80.0	123 of 758	83.8%	★★★★☆
2018	75.2	141 of 690	79.6%	★★★★☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	48.6	80 of 120	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	76.9	9 of 119	92.4%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	75.8	152 of 697	78.2%	★★★★☆
2025	89.8	47 of 700	93.3%	★★★★★
2024	77.1	137 of 683	79.9%	★★★★☆
2023	69.0	180 of 649	72.3%	★★★★☆
2022	78.7	104 of 594	82.5%	★★★★☆
2019	81.1	118 of 764	84.6%	★★★★☆
2018	92.4	32 of 693	95.4%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	83.3	49 of 547	91.0%	★★★★★
2025	85.3	46 of 551	91.7%	★★★★★
2024	75.9	99 of 539	81.6%	★★★★☆
2023	77.2	85 of 525	83.8%	★★★★☆
2022	83.4	52 of 454	88.5%	★★★★☆
2021	62.4	120 of 288	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	75.7	109 of 596	81.7%	★★★★☆
2018	87.9	30 of 337	91.1%	★★★★★

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)

White (2026)91st percentile+3 vs school

Female (2026)88th percentile~ school

Male (2026)78th percentile-9 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)33rd percentile-54 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

Science77%+41 vs state

English Language Arts66%+21 vs state

Math64%+26 vs state

3.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, January 18, 2018

Bullying is rampant. Principal and Teachers do not take bullying seriously.
Advanced students are given an iPad and left on their own. There is no interaction, expectations or follow-up on the advanced work.
Communication from Administrators and Teachers is poor and often conflicting. Be prepared to dig through the information to try and understand what is happening. Close Quote

Schools Near University Park 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 7th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 8th 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 7th Grade	CMAS Math 8th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 5th Grade	CMAS Science 8th Grade	Total
University Park Elementary School	Public	K-5	2300 South St Paul Street	Denver	80210	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-3410	413	27	15.4	28.6%	269 (65.1%)	24 (5.8%)	71 (17.2%)	22 (5.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (5.8%)	86.1	117^th of 946 public elementary schools	87.6%		89.3	80^th of 950 public elementary schools	91.6%	37	53.6	71.0	77.1				65.9	56.5	60.3	77.6				63.5	77.1		$17,805
Slavens K-8 School	Public	K-8	3000 South Clayton Street	Denver	80210	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-4150	762	41	18.6	13.3%	591 (77.6%)	29 (3.8%)	71 (9.3%)	13 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (7.5%)	96	21^st of 946 public elementary schools	97.8%		97.8	10^th of 950 public elementary schools	98.9%	11	69.2	82.7	89.5	87.3	93.3	83.5	84.3	71.8	64.6	85.1	84.8	85.3	93.6	80.8	72.3	82.4	$16,642
Cory Elementary School	Public	1-5	1550 South Steele Street	Denver	80210	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-8380	407	24	16.8	23.1%	286 (70.3%)	18 (4.4%)	43 (10.6%)	14 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	44 (10.8%)	88.5	86^th of 946 public elementary schools	90.9%		91.5	56^th of 950 public elementary schools	94.1%	30	59.3	80.3	78.0				72.4	59.8	72.4	62.2				64.6	58.0		$16,807
Creativity Challenge Community	Public	K-5	1551 S. Monroe St	Denver	80210	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-0630	306	17	17.6	14.4%	229 (74.8%)	7 (2.3%)	39 (12.7%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	25 (8.2%)	96.3	19^th of 946 public elementary schools	98.0%		92	52^nd of 950 public elementary schools	94.5%	33	73.9	75.9	92.9				80.3	76.6	74.1	82.9				77.5	81.0		$16,913
Highline Academy Southeast	Public, Charter	K-8	2170 South Dahlia Street	Denver	80222	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	No	(303) 759-7808	591	46	12.8	53.3%	229 (38.7%)	147 (24.9%)	168 (28.4%)	20 (3.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.2%)	63.3	322^nd of 946 public elementary schools	66.0%		54.8	406^th of 950 public elementary schools	57.3%	84	41.8	62.7	62.3	51.8	50.6	52.9	53.8	38.2	47.8	50.0	34.1	31.2	45.6	40.6	44.3	36.8	$15,050
Asbury Elementary School	Public	K-5	1320 East Asbury Avenue	Denver	80210	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-9750	292	21	13.5	23.3%	202 (69.2%)	9 (3.1%)	58 (19.9%)	4 (1.4%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.8%)	84.6	135^th of 946 public elementary schools	85.7%		90.6	70^th of 950 public elementary schools	92.6%	65	60.4	55.8	71.4				61.4	66.7	58.8	65.7				63.6	79.4		$19,079
Ellis Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1651 South Dahlia Street	Denver	80222	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-7700	467	26	18.1	85.2%	80 (17.1%)	31 (6.6%)	334 (71.5%)	12 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.9%)	15.9	802^nd of 946 public elementary schools	15.2%		9.8	886^th of 950 public elementary schools	6.7%	84	43.5	35.3	13.0				25.6	17.5	20.8	10.9				16.7	709.0		$18,945
Bradley International School	Public	PK, KG-5	3051 South Elm Street	Denver	80222	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-9468	574	34	16.8	42.2%	275 (47.9%)	64 (11.1%)	153 (26.7%)	23 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (9.9%)	68.4	280^th of 946 public elementary schools	70.4%		62.8	336^th of 950 public elementary schools	64.6%	56	54.5	49.3	55.9				53.0	57.4	41.3	55.7				51.0	51.7		$17,469
Charles Hay World School	Public	K-6	1221 E Eastman Ave	Englewood	80113	Arapahoe County	Englewood School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(303) 761-2433	271	23	11.9	52.8%	150 (55.4%)	22 (8.1%)	83 (30.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (5.5%)	51.3	426^th of 946 public elementary schools	55.0%		44.8	491^st of 950 public elementary schools	48.3%	65	55.6	59.5	45.9	35.5			50.0	44.4	45.2	24.3	32.3			37.0	29.7		$18,666
Holly Hills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6161 East Cornell Avenue	Denver	80222	Denver County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 747-2500	633	42	15.2	62.4%	174 (27.5%)	71 (11.2%)	323 (51.0%)	15 (2.4%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	46 (7.3%)	17	790^th of 946 public elementary schools	16.5%		22.1	710^th of 950 public elementary schools	25.3%	80	28.2	26.7	22.3				25.7	25.6	18.2	23.4				22.4	13.8		$20,165

Frequently Asked Questions about University Park Elementary School

Is University Park Elementary School a good school?

University Park Elementary School ranks 117^th of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend University Park Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 413 students attended University Park Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of University Park Elementary School?

Students at University Park Elementary School are 65% White, 17% Hispanic, 6% African American, 6% Two or more races, 5% Asian.

What district is University Park Elementary School in?

School District No. 1

What schools do graduates of University Park Elementary School attend?

Students who attend University Park Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Merrill Middle School
High : South High 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.