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Barney Ford Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
898th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 950 Colorado Elementary Schools
Better than 5% of Colorado elementary schools
Summary

Barney Ford Elementary School is a public elementary school in Denver, Colorado, serving 464 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the School District No. 1, which is ranked 76 out of 115 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Barney Ford Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of Colorado elementary schools, with significantly lower academic performance than the district and state averages on CMAS assessments. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 16.8% of Barney Ford students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 41.9% in the district and 44.8% statewide. The school also has a high percentage of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, with 94.83% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and a high percentage of English Language Learner students. Additionally, Barney Ford has experienced a concerning increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 27.7% in 2023-2024 to 44.3% in 2024-2025.

In comparison, nearby schools such as Monarch Montessori, Academy 360, and Lena Archuleta Elementary generally perform better academically, with higher proficiency rates on CMAS assessments and higher statewide rankings. However, these nearby schools also have lower percentages of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, ranging from 69.23% to 78.27% free or reduced-price lunch recipients, compared to Barney Ford's 94.83%. Addressing the challenges faced by Barney Ford Elementary, including its academic performance, student demographics, and chronic absenteeism, will be crucial for improving educational outcomes for its students.

487
Students ?
15.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$18,879
Per pupil spending ?
94%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 14500 Maxwell Place
       Denver, CO  80239-3804

(720) 424-7300

District: School District No. 1

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
84.0%
African American:
10.3%
White:
2.1%
more
 See top rated Colorado elementary schools

 Compare Barney Ford Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 1st percentile in 2014 → 5th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Colorado average (14% vs 40% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)
!English Language Arts scores 28 pts below the Colorado average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school14%
District avg37%
Colorado avg40%
898th of 950
Colorado public elementary schools ?
Bottom 5%▼ down 8 pts since 2015
From bottom 13% (2015) to bottom 5% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
90th of 99Elementary Schools in the School District No. 1
76th of 115School 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
20259.3898 of 9505.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20249.0901 of 9434.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.1872 of 9336.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202212.1850 of 9217.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201918.3790 of 96518.1%★☆☆☆☆
201823.8680 of 91725.8%★☆☆☆☆
201733.3597 of 92935.7%★★☆☆☆
201623.9682 of 91425.4%★☆☆☆☆
201515.2815 of 93813.1%★☆☆☆☆
20144.6952 of 9621.0%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202517.414 of 140.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201946.122 of 4348.8%★★★☆☆
201852.65 of 1258.3%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
20235.9635 of 6421.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201912.4702 of 7587.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201820.9562 of 69018.6%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
201939.9157 of 27041.9%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
20249.0656 of 6834.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202310.5612 of 6495.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201917.0648 of 76415.2%★☆☆☆☆
201814.8610 of 69312.0%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Hispanic (2019)42nd percentile+24 vs school
Male (2024)4th percentile~ school
Female (2023)1st percentile-5 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)<1st percentile-5 vs school
By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts17%-28 vs state
Math13%-23 vs state
Science12%-26 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Barney Ford Elementary School

In the 2024-25 school year, 487 students attended Barney Ford Elementary School.

Students at Barney Ford Elementary School are 84% Hispanic, 10% African American, 2% White, 2% Pacific Islander, 1% Two or more races.

Barney Ford Elementary School ranks in the bottom 5.5% of Colorado elementary schools.

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Latest Colorado data All new data »
2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026
2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 13, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataAug 27, 2025
2024–25 CMAS, PSAT10, PSAT9 & SAT test scoresAug 21, 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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