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Compass Academy

Public, Charter Grades 6-8

467^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 476 Colorado Middle Schools

Better than 2% of Colorado middle schools

Summary

Compass Academy is a small middle school in Denver, CO, serving roughly 200 students in grades 6–8 and is part of School District No. 1. The school has struggled immensely in recent years, ranking in the bottom 2% of all middle schools in Colorado. In 2025–2026, only 6.2% of students were proficient in math and 13.1% were proficient in English Language Arts, compared with state averages of 37.3% and 44.7%, respectively. These numbers are far below nearby schools like Grant Beacon Middle School, which achieved 35.1% math proficiency, and even lower than other high-poverty schools such as KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy and Rocky Mountain Prep Federal.

The most urgent warning sign at Compass Academy is its chronic absenteeism rate. In 2024–2025, a staggering 66.7% of students were chronically absent, meaning they missed a significant portion of the school year. That rate is more than double the state average of 28.4% and roughly 20 percentage points higher than the next closest nearby school, Bear Valley International School. This problem is also worsening rapidly, up from 54.5% the previous year. With two out of every three students missing substantial instructional time, it is extremely difficult for the school to make academic progress, regardless of the relatively low student-to-teacher ratio of 11:1.

While the school serves a very high-poverty population, with 91.5% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, nearby schools with similar demographics achieve better results. Rocky Mountain Prep Westwood serves a comparable student body yet posts higher proficiency rates in both math and ELA. The low achievement at Compass Academy spans all student subgroups, with no bright spots in the data, and scores have remained essentially flat for several years. Science proficiency is also critically low at 5.6% for 8th graders. On a more positive note, the school reports a very low dropout rate, though this is less meaningful for a middle school. Overall, the data paints a clear picture of a school facing deeply entrenched challenges, with attendance being the most immediate barrier to improvement.

200

Students ?

11.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,170

Per pupil spending ?

91.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2285 S Federal Blvd
Denver, CO 80219-3418

(720) 424-0096

District: School District No. 1

Students who attend Compass Academy usually attend:

High:

West High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

92.0%

White:

3.0%

African American:

2.5%

See top rated Colorado middle schools

Compare Compass Academy to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 3rd percentile in 2018 → 2nd in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (9% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (58% vs 28% Colorado)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school9%

District avg38%

Colorado avg41%

467^th of 476

Colorado public middle schools ?

Bottom 2%▼ down 1 pts since 2018

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

29^th 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	7.5	467 of 476	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.7	473 of 485	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.4	477 of 480	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.4	438 of 448	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.2	453 of 458	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.7	405 of 418	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2023	5.2	360 of 363	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.9	346 of 352	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2023	8.1	349 of 356	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.1	343 of 343	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Male (2023)2nd percentile~ school

Female (2023)1st percentile~ school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts13%-32 vs state

Math6%-31 vs state

Science6%-30 vs state

★

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Schools Near Compass Academy

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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 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 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
Compass Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	2285 S Federal Blvd	Denver	80219	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-0096	200	18	11.0	91.5%	6 (3.0%)	5 (2.5%)	184 (92.0%)	3 (1.5%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7.5	467^th of 476 public middle schools	1.9%					(n/a)			16.7	11.1	11.3	13.1			708.0	712.0	8.5	6.2		5.6	$19,170
Rocky Mountain Prep Federal	Public, Charter	6-8	2626 W Evans Ave	Denver	80219	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(720) 460-2800	376	24	15.4	88.0%	9 (2.4%)	15 (4.0%)	340 (90.4%)	4 (1.1%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.8%)	2 (0.5%)	13.2	434^th of 476 public middle schools	8.8%		14.8	410^th of 469 public middle schools	12.6%	24			15.0	24.7	17.5	18.7			22.0	14.6	8.7	15.1		3.9	$16,494
DSST: College View Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	3111 W Dartmouth Ave	Denver	80236	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(303) 524-6320	446	36	12.4	86.3%	29 (6.5%)	15 (3.4%)	379 (85.0%)	14 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.0%)	22.1	353^rd of 476 public middle schools	25.8%		20.6	359^th of 469 public middle schools	23.5%	6			21.4	35.3	22.2	26.8			20.0	17.5	23.5	20.2		19.1	$11,894
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
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
Bear Valley Middle School	Public	6-8	3005 South Golden Way	Denver	80227	Jefferson County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 423-9600	313	29	10.8	77.6%	45 (14.4%)	13 (4.2%)	230 (73.5%)	13 (4.2%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.2%)	27.8	318^th of 476 public middle schools	33.2%		22.9	341^st of 469 public middle schools	27.3%	23			29.7	27.4	35.1	30.7			23.1	13.9	31.2	22.9		23.7	$21,897
Fort Logan Northgate	Public	4-8	4000 S. Lowell Blvd.	Denver	80236	Denver County	Sheridan School District No. 2	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 833-6850	338	20	16.9	85.8%	46 (13.6%)	9 (2.7%)	265 (78.4%)	7 (2.1%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.7%)								(n/a)	701.0	706.0	708.0	714.0	13.2	706.0	705.0	698.0	699.0	718.0	698.0	702.0	696.0	704.0	$23,053
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
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
Englewood Middle School	Public	6-8	3800 S Logan St	Englewood	80110	Arapahoe County	Englewood School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 781-7817	210	20	10.6	72.9%	83 (39.5%)	12 (5.7%)	99 (47.1%)	3 (1.4%)	3 (1.4%)	1 (0.5%)	9 (4.3%)	21.9	356^th of 476 public middle schools	25.2%		19.9	367^th of 469 public middle schools	21.7%	11			33.3	20.8	22.1	22.9			29.4	13.0	28.7	22.2		21.6	$20,399

Frequently Asked Questions about Compass Academy

What is the racial makeup of Compass Academy?

Students at Compass Academy are 92% Hispanic, 3% White, 3% African American, 2% Asian.

Is Compass Academy a good school?

Compass Academy ranks in the bottom 1.9% of Colorado middle schools.

How many students attend Compass Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 200 students attended Compass Academy.

What district is Compass Academy in?

School District No. 1

What high school do graduates of Compass Academy attend?

Students who attend Compass Academy usually go on to attend West High School

Rate Compass Academy!

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Latest Colorado data All new data »

2025–26 attendance dataNewOct 6, 2026

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

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.