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Denver Center for International Studies

Public, Magnet Grades 6-8

432^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 476 Colorado Middle Schools

Better than 9% of Colorado middle schools

Summary

Denver Center for International Studies is a public school serving 354 students in grades 6–12 in downtown Denver, with about 71.5% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–25, within School District No. 1. The school earns 2 stars in the 2024–25 state ranking (227th of 328 Colorado high schools), but this modest overall ranking masks some important strengths. Most notably, DCIS posts a 94.4% graduation rate—well above the district's 81.9% and the state's 85.6%—and a 1.5% dropout rate, nearly identical to the state rate of 1.6%. By comparison, nearby West High School graduates 82.0% of its students, and several small alternative schools within a mile struggle to reach even 35% graduation, including Florence Crittenton High School at 20.0% and Colorado High School Charter at 26.6%.

In reading and writing, DCIS is competitive. Its 45.9% proficiency rate on the CMAS English Language Arts test beats both the district (41.9%) and state (44.8%), and 56% of 11th graders are proficient on the SAT Reading/Writing section, above the district average. Math tells a different story: only 14.8% of students are proficient on CMAS math, far below the district (32.9%) and state (35.9%), and 9th-grade PSAT math proficiency sits at just 11%. The school's only roughly average math result is SAT math at 31%, essentially tied with the district and state at 32%. Among nearby schools, DSST: Cedar High School posts far higher test scores, while most other neighboring schools struggle more than DCIS on both tests and graduation outcomes.

DCIS's biggest challenges are chronic absenteeism and math proficiency. About 44.9% of students were chronically absent in 2024–25—too high, though a much smaller share than at Contemporary Learning Academy (90.6%) or Denver Justice High School (89.8%). Encouragingly, the school's economically disadvantaged students earned a 3-star rating in 2024–25, up from 1 star two years earlier, suggesting DCIS is making headway supporting the majority of its students. In short, DCIS appears to be a stable, completion-focused school that keeps students on track to graduate—far more successfully than most of its neighbors—but it has yet to translate that success into strong statewide test performance, particularly in math.

354

Students ?

13.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,920

Per pupil spending ?

71.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

574 West 6th Ave
Denver, CO 80204-5124

(720) 423-9000

District: School District No. 1

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

72.0%

White:

11.6%

Two or more races:

5.6%

See top rated Colorado middle schools

Compare Denver Center for International Studies to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 59th percentile in 2016 → 9th in 2026

Strengths

✓94% graduate in 4 years — above the Colorado average (86%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (14% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (45% vs 28% Colorado)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school14%

District avg38%

Colorado avg41%

432^nd of 476

Colorado public middle schools ?

Bottom 9%▼ down 50 pts since 2016

From top 41% (2016) to bottom 9% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

23^rd of 30Middle 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)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	13.4	432 of 476	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	32.8	294 of 469	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	21.7	359 of 485	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.3	302 of 480	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.6	252 of 448	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	46.9	175 of 369	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	23.6	343 of 458	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	35.8	257 of 418	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2017	36.9	248 of 424	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2016	53.3	164 of 400	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2015	71.2	89 of 436	79.6%	★★★★☆
2014	82.0	66 of 461	85.7%	★★★★☆
2013	72.8	112 of 454	75.3%	★★★★☆
2012	72.4	113 of 425	73.4%	★★★★☆
2011	69.2	123 of 422	70.9%	★★★★☆
2010	71.3	113 of 409	72.4%	★★★★☆
2009	59.5	157 of 377	58.4%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	15.3	318 of 368	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.0	255 of 350	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.0	231 of 363	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.1	207 of 326	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	22.4	273 of 352	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.7	198 of 315	37.1%	★★☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2019	10.3	132 of 134	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.2	114 of 121	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	63.5	55 of 218	74.8%	★★★★☆
2024	31.1	131 of 199	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.4	130 of 198	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.4	99 of 169	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	19.8	189 of 220	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.7	111 of 165	32.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2023	30.9	168 of 241	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.0	120 of 197	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.4	222 of 240	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	21.6	191 of 222	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2024	24.0	262 of 357	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.7	209 of 356	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.9	184 of 328	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	19.9	271 of 343	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.3	229 of 317	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2019	62.0	94 of 283	66.8%	★★★☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	31.4	227 of 328	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.7	241 of 349	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.8	228 of 349	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.9	164 of 221	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.5	156 of 210	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	67.1	115 of 411	72.0%	★★★★☆
2018	67.5	104 of 388	73.2%	★★★★☆
2017	65.6	42 of 256	83.6%	★★★★☆
2016	70.4	30 of 255	88.2%	★★★★☆
2015	60.3	73 of 292	75.0%	★★★★☆
2014	78.9	69 of 369	81.3%	★★★★☆
2013	56.2	162 of 349	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2012	59.6	145 of 334	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	64.7	131 of 337	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2010	64.4	127 of 327	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2009	68.9	102 of 310	67.1%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	29.9	173 of 247	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	39.9	151 of 257	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.4	136 of 254	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.5	162 of 257	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	43.4	133 of 239	44.4%	★★☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2021	39.1	85 of 118	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	31.3	117 of 187	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.7	141 of 199	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	38.2	114 of 198	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.0	148 of 205	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	37.6	98 of 181	45.9%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	49.0	94 of 194	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	23.7	163 of 211	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	38.6	130 of 200	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.8	152 of 203	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	53.4	71 of 188	62.2%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	36.2	155 of 246	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.6	160 of 256	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.7	173 of 252	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	16.6	208 of 253	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.1	168 of 240	30.0%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Middle school

Hispanic (2025)75th percentile+37 vs school

White (2019)67th percentile+42 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2023)30th percentile-7 vs school

Male (2024)27th percentile~ school

Female (2026)14th percentile+4 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2019)1st percentile-24 vs school

High school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)52nd percentile+21 vs school

Hispanic (2025)37th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2025)37th percentile+6 vs school

Female (2025)30th percentile~ school

Gifted and Talented (2021)28th percentile~ school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts21%-24 vs state

Science11%-24 vs state

Math9%-28 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Saturday, October 21, 2017

My daughter is presently an 8th grader at DCIS. To say her experience since 6th grade has been transformative would be an understatement. She has thrived in an environment that encourages creativity, student voice and a fluency in cultural and global issues. The school did struggle over the past few years as it transitioned from an all-application school to an open enrollment school, but this year is going great and my daughter couldn't be more thrilled with her teachers and her classes and the amazing clubs and activities she is able to experience. Close Quote

Schools Near Denver Center for International Studies

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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 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 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
Denver Center for International Studies	Public, Magnet	6-8	574 West 6th Ave	Denver	80204	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	Yes	No	Yes	(720) 423-9000	354	26	13.5	71.5%	41 (11.6%)	13 (3.7%)	255 (72.0%)	8 (2.3%)	14 (4.0%)	1 (0.3%)	20 (5.6%)	13.4	432^nd of 476 public middle schools	9.2%		32.8	294^th of 469 public middle schools	37.3%	138		13.9	15.4	28.6	21.0		698.0	717.0	11.3	8.8		11.3	$21,920
Girls Athletic Leadership School Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	750 Galapago St.	Denver	80204	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	No	(303) 282-6437	223	16	14.1	30.9%	124 (55.6%)	16 (7.2%)	58 (26.0%)	3 (1.3%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (8.1%)	80.3	78^th of 476 public middle schools	83.6%		76.3	94^th of 469 public middle schools	80.0%	16		57.1	81.2	72.5	69.8		31.2	47.8	67.6	48.1		55.9	$13,673
DSST: Cedar Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	150 S Pearl Street	Denver	80209	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	No	(303) 524-6350	485	36	13.5	50.5%	187 (38.6%)	90 (18.6%)	148 (30.5%)	21 (4.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (7.4%)	86.7	49^th of 476 public middle schools	89.7%		86.7	48^th of 469 public middle schools	89.8%	1		57.1	73.1	64.4	65.0		52.0	54.1	67.1	57.6		61.0	$9,604
Morey Middle School	Public	6-8	840 East 14th Avenue	Denver	80218	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-0700	479	25	19.1	29.0%	284 (59.3%)	30 (6.3%)	96 (20.0%)	11 (2.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (10.4%)	97.1	11^th of 476 public middle schools	97.7%		97.8	9^th of 469 public middle schools	98.1%	2		76.8	87.2	81.9	81.6		77.8	75.6	73.9	76.0		66.4	$16,610
KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy	Public, Charter	5-8	375 S Tejon Street	Denver	80223	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(303) 623-5772	301	29	10.5	93.7%	5 (1.7%)	7 (2.3%)	279 (92.7%)	4 (1.3%)	3 (1.0%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	9.2	456^th of 476 public middle schools	4.2%		11.9	432^nd of 469 public middle schools	7.9%	24	20.0	11.2	15.6	12.9	13.9	13.3	9.0	14.3	11.4	11.7	24.1	4.3	$18,412
Kepner Beacon Middle School	Public	6-8	911 South Hazel Court	Denver	80219	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-0027	467	33	14.1	89.9%	16 (3.4%)	26 (5.6%)	409 (87.6%)	9 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.5%)	16	411^th of 476 public middle schools	13.7%		11	435^th of 469 public middle schools	7.2%	24		15.4	18.2	17.4	17.1		15.7	14.0	31.1	21.0		8.3	$22,149
Lake Middle School	Public	6-8	1820 Lowell Blvd	Denver	80204	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-0260	592	41	14.5	75.8%	44 (7.4%)	55 (9.3%)	462 (78.0%)	5 (0.8%)	11 (1.9%)	8 (1.4%)	7 (1.2%)	14.3	423^rd of 476 public middle schools	11.1%		19.8	368^th of 469 public middle schools	21.5%	55		18.3	30.3	13.4	20.2		12.9	19.5	11.6	14.5		10.4	$20,751
Manual Middle School	Public	6-8	1700 E. 28th Ave.	Denver	80205	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 423-6550	257	18	14.0	71.2%	45 (17.5%)	90 (35.0%)	99 (38.5%)	1 (0.4%)	6 (2.3%)	1 (0.4%)	14 (5.4%)	23.1	344^th of 476 public middle schools	27.7%		21.5	348^th of 469 public middle schools	25.8%	4		28.1	21.4	40.3	30.3		19.3	5.3	19.0	14.7		23.3	$20,830
Rocky Mountain Prep Westwood	Public, Charter	6-8	3201 W Arizona Ave.	Denver	80219	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(303) 962-9880	411	27	15.2	91.7%	2 (0.5%)	8 (1.9%)	390 (94.9%)	6 (1.5%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	14.1	426^th of 476 public middle schools	10.5%		15.5	405^th of 469 public middle schools	13.6%	21		19.7	30.8	13.9	21.8		19.0	11.5	10.4	13.7		5.0	$14,004
Grant Beacon Middle School	Public	6-8	1751 South Washington Street	Denver	80210	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 423-9360	339	21	16.2	65.5%	92 (27.1%)	30 (8.8%)	184 (54.3%)	10 (2.9%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	20 (5.9%)	51.8	189^th of 476 public middle schools	60.3%		41.3	234^th of 469 public middle schools	50.1%	45		53.8	44.7	40.6	46.6		40.6	27.7	36.5	35.1		30.5	$19,744

Frequently Asked Questions about Denver Center for International Studies

Is Denver Center for International Studies a good school?

Denver Center for International Studies ranks in the bottom 9.2% of Colorado middle schools.

What district is Denver Center for International Studies in?

School District No. 1

What is the racial makeup of Denver Center for International Studies?

Students at Denver Center for International Studies are 72% Hispanic, 12% White, 6% Two or more races, 4% American Indian, 4% African American, 2% Asian.

How many students attend Denver Center for International Studies?

In the 2024-25 school year, 354 students attended Denver Center for International Studies.

Rate Denver Center for International Studies!

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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.