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DSST: Cole Middle School

Public, Charter Grades 6-8

439^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 469 Colorado Middle Schools

Better than 6% of Colorado middle schools

Summary

DSST: Cole Middle School is a small charter middle school in Denver's Cole neighborhood, serving 282 students in grades 6–8 as part of School District No. 1 (Denver Public Schools). The school serves a highly economically disadvantaged student population, with 86.2% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Currently, DSST: Cole ranks at the 6th percentile statewide (439th of 469 middle schools) and holds a 0-star rating, making it one of the lowest-performing middle schools in Colorado. This continues a downward trend from the early 2020s, when the school ranked around the 14th–20th percentile.

Academic proficiency at DSST: Cole is critically low. In 2025-26, only 9.2% of students were proficient in math on the CMAS assessment, compared with 35.0% across School District No. 1 and 37.3% statewide. Math proficiency has never risen above 11.3% in recent years. English Language Arts proficiency stands at just 16.3% versus 42.5% for the district and 44.7% statewide, and it has dropped sharply from 29.8% in 2022-23. Chronic absenteeism is a serious concern, with 55.8% of students missing significant amounts of school in 2024-25, roughly double the state average of 28.4%.

The contrast with nearby schools is striking. Manual Middle School, just 0.43 miles away, serves a similarly high-poverty population but outperforms DSST: Cole on every measure, with 30.3% ELA proficiency and 14.7% math proficiency. Even more telling, DSST: Cedar Middle School—part of the same DSST charter network—ranks in the 90th percentile statewide with 65.0% ELA and 57.6% math proficiency. Top-performing Denver schools like Morey Middle School, McAuliffe International School, and Skinner Middle School post math proficiency rates between 55% and 76%. Notably, DSST: Cole has a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.8, yet outcomes remain very low, suggesting that challenges like attendance and student mobility are significant barriers. For parents considering this school, the declining performance trend and high chronic absenteeism are important factors to weigh carefully.

282

Students ?

11.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,612

Per pupil spending ?

86.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3240 Humboldt Street
Denver, CO 80205

(303) 524-6354

District: School District No. 1

Students who attend DSST: Cole Middle School usually attend:

High:

Manual High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

69.9%

African American:

22.7%

White:

3.5%

See top rated Colorado middle schools

Compare DSST: Cole Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 18th percentile in 2016 → 6th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (13% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (56% vs 28% Colorado)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school13%

District avg38%

Colorado avg41%

439^th of 469

Colorado public middle schools ?

Bottom 6%▼ down 11 pts since 2016

From bottom 18% (2016) to bottom 6% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

24^th of 29Middle Schools in the School District No. 1

71^st 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	11.1	439 of 469	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.0	430 of 469	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.6	403 of 485	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.8	383 of 480	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.0	385 of 448	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	6.7	368 of 369	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.5	416 of 458	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.0	378 of 418	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	16.2	362 of 424	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	20.5	329 of 400	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	45.7	212 of 436	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2014	52.9	209 of 461	54.7%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	8.9	347 of 365	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	10.7	326 of 347	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.6	308 of 350	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.9	288 of 363	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	284 of 326	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	8.8	330 of 352	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.4	299 of 315	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	21.4	172 of 207	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	22.0	184 of 218	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.6	139 of 199	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	47.6	91 of 198	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	22.5	181 of 220	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.6	133 of 165	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	19.1	217 of 241	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.8	133 of 197	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	24.7	194 of 240	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.2	189 of 222	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	11.1	341 of 369	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.5	320 of 352	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.3	294 of 357	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.1	252 of 356	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.7	293 of 328	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.6	273 of 343	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.4	282 of 317	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2026)17th percentile+11 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)10th percentile~ school

Male (2026)8th percentile~ school

Female (2026)5th percentile~ school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

Science18%-18 vs state

English Language Arts16%-28 vs state

Math9%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near DSST: Cole Middle 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 6th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 7th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 8th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts All Grades	CMAS Math 6th Grade	CMAS Math 7th Grade	CMAS Math 8th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 8th Grade	Total
DSST: Cole Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	3240 Humboldt Street	Denver	80205	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(303) 524-6354	282	24	11.8	86.2%	10 (3.5%)	64 (22.7%)	197 (69.9%)	2 (0.7%)	2 (0.7%)	3 (1.1%)	4 (1.4%)	11.1	439^th of 469 public middle schools	6.4%		12	430^th of 469 public middle schools	8.3%	9	7.1	23.3	18.8	16.3	8.1	8.2	11.3	9.2	17.5	$13,612
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	340^th of 469 public middle schools	27.5%		21.5	348^th of 469 public middle schools	25.8%	8	28.1	21.4	40.3	30.3	19.3	5.3	19.0	14.7	23.3	$20,830
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	11^th of 469 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
Rocky Mountain Prep Sunnyside	Public, Charter	6-8	4735 Pecos St	Denver	80211	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(720) 723-2000	154	16	9.6	87.0%	6 (3.9%)	29 (18.8%)	110 (71.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.6%)	2 (1.3%)	3 (1.9%)	10.5	442^nd of 469 public middle schools	5.8%		16.8	394^th of 469 public middle schools	16.0%	48	16.3	10.5	18.5	15.6	11.9			7.5	11.1	$18,962
McAuliffe International School	Public	6-8	2540 Holly St	Denver	80207	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-1540	1,329	67	19.7	27.5%	760 (57.2%)	160 (12.0%)	238 (17.9%)	36 (2.7%)	4 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	127 (9.6%)	95.5	18^th of 469 public middle schools	96.2%		94.6	22^nd of 469 public middle schools	95.3%	4	75.6	74.2	71.8	73.9	70.9	74.0	80.9	75.1	66.3	$15,947
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%)	80.2	78^th of 469 public middle schools	83.4%		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
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				32.8	294^th of 469 public middle schools	37.3%	(n/a)	13.9	15.4	28.6	21.0			11.3	8.8	11.3	$21,920
Hill Campus of Arts and Sciences	Public	6-8	451 Clermont Street	Denver	80220	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 423-9680	651	35	18.8	51.9%	227 (34.9%)	106 (16.3%)	235 (36.1%)	16 (2.5%)	3 (0.5%)	6 (0.9%)	56 (8.6%)	40	243^rd of 469 public middle schools	48.2%		29.1	321^st of 469 public middle schools	31.6%	78	34.9	51.2	38.8	41.6	28.0	19.0	26.7	24.6	34.0	$16,842
Skinner Middle School	Public	6-8	3435 West 40th Avenue	Denver	80211	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-1420	673	41	16.5	41.0%	330 (49.0%)	23 (3.4%)	275 (40.9%)	5 (0.7%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (5.1%)	87.3	47^th of 469 public middle schools	90.0%		82.4	62^nd of 469 public middle schools	86.8%	15	63.5	72.0	68.5	67.6	48.0	58.0	64.3	55.3	71.3	$16,694
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%)	86.6	49^th of 469 public middle schools	89.6%		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

Frequently Asked Questions about DSST: Cole Middle School

What high school do graduates of DSST: Cole Middle School attend?

Students who attend DSST: Cole Middle School usually go on to attend Manual High School

How many students attend DSST: Cole Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 282 students attended DSST: Cole Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of DSST: Cole Middle School?

Students at DSST: Cole Middle School are 70% Hispanic, 23% African American, 4% White, 1% Two or more races, 1% Pacific Islander.

Is DSST: Cole Middle School a good school?

DSST: Cole Middle School ranks in the bottom 6.4% of Colorado middle schools.

What district is DSST: Cole Middle School in?

School District No. 1

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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.