Summary
Dolores High School is a small, rural public high school in Dolores, Colorado, serving grades 9–12 with an enrollment of 186 students. The school currently ranks in the 36th percentile of Colorado high schools (2 stars), placing it in the average-to-low-average range statewide, and it is part of Dolores School District No. Re-4A. With fewer than 50 students per grade, scores can swing noticeably from year to year — the school was in the 49th percentile just last year and in the 55th–62nd percentile range a decade ago. Parents should interpret any single-year statistic with that volatility in mind.
Academically, Dolores shows a mixed picture. Science scores are a genuine bright spot, beating the state average in recent years — 26.5% proficient in 2025–2026 versus 24.8% statewide, and even stronger the prior two years. Reading results vary by grade: 10th grade reading soared to 77% proficiency (state: 65%), while 9th grade reading came in at 52% (state: 66%). Math is the clearest weakness, with only 12% of 11th graders proficient on SAT Math versus 32% statewide, a gap that has persisted for years. Nearby Mancos High School shows a nearly identical math figure (12%), suggesting a regional challenge. The school also offers a favorable 11.5:1 student–teacher ratio, better than Mancos (15:1) and Montezuma-Cortez High School (20.9:1).
The most urgent concern is chronic absenteeism, which spiked from 6.3% in 2023–2024 to 38.2% in 2024–2025, now well above the state average of 28.4%. That said, neighboring schools struggle too — Mancos is at 62.2% and Montezuma-Cortez at 38.3%. Dolores’s graduation rate sits at 82.8%, just below the state’s 85.6%, but it has bounced around from 73.0% to 88.9% in recent years. On a positive note, the dropout rate is just 0.9%, far better than Montezuma-Cortez (4.1%) or Southwest Open Charter School (7.6%). For parents, Dolores offers small classes and strong science instruction, but math performance and attendance are areas worth watching closely.
Thank you for your feedback!