Summary
Denver School of the Arts is a public magnet secondary school in Denver, CO, serving 1,044 students in grades 6–12 within School District No. 1, and it stands out as an elite academic outlier in a district that ranks only in the 38th percentile statewide. The school has earned a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger year after year, ranking #11 of 338 Colorado high schools (97th percentile) for 2025-2026, and it has placed in the top 10 of the state for three straight years. Most nearby schools, including East High School (#65), Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy (#111), and George Washington High School (#228), trail DSA by a wide margin.
Academically, DSA's test scores are roughly double the district and state averages across the board. In 2025-2026, 84.1% of students were proficient in ELA, 67.4% in math, and 78.8% in 8th grade science, compared to district averages of 42.5%, 35.0%, and 30.5%. On the SAT, 90% met the reading & writing benchmark and 71% met the math benchmark. The school's graduation rate was 96.6% in 2024-2025, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 12.1% is less than a third of the district's 38.1% and far below nearby schools like DSST: Montview High School (32.3%) and Bruce Randolph School (51.0%).
Perhaps most impressively, DSA ranks in the top 7% or better in the state for every reported student subgroup, including Hispanic students (#7), multiracial students (#3), and low socio-economic status students (#14). While DSA is an arts-focused school by mission, it clearly does not sacrifice core academics. One relative area for growth is math, which lags behind the school's ELA scores. Also, DSA's free/reduced lunch rate of 15.8% means it serves a more economically advantaged population than nearby schools, but its strong subgroup outcomes suggest the school is genuinely effective for the students it serves, not just selective enrollment.
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