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Mesa Middle School

Q: Is Mesa Middle School a good school?

Mesa Middle School ranks 159 th of 476 Colorado middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Q: How many students attend Mesa Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 852 students attended Mesa Middle School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Mesa Middle School?

Students at Mesa Middle School are 68% White, 23% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 1% Asian, 1% African American.

Q: What high school do graduates of Mesa Middle School attend?

Students who attend Mesa Middle School usually go on to attend Douglas County High School

Public Grades 6-8

159^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 476 Colorado Middle Schools

Better than 67% of Colorado middle schools

Summary

Mesa Middle School is a grades 6–8 middle school in Castle Rock, CO, serving 852 students and part of the highly rated Douglas County School District No. Re 1, where it currently holds a 3-star rating and ranks 158th out of 469 Colorado middle schools (66th percentile).

Mesa’s biggest academic challenge is math. Only 35.4% of students are proficient in math, compared to a 57.2% district average and 37.3% statewide – a gap that persists across all three grade levels. English Language Arts is a relative strength, with 52.6% proficiency versus 44.7% for the state, but Mesa still trails nearby schools like Mountain Ridge Middle School and Sagewood Middle School in both subjects. Science performance (43.4%) sits above the state average but below the district’s 54.1%. When compared to Castle Rock Middle School, Mesa is stronger in ELA and science but weaker in math, highlighting a mixed record among its closest geographic neighbors.

Attendance is another area of concern: chronic absenteeism runs at 22.5%, well above the district’s 16.6% average, though below the state’s 28.4%. On the positive side, Mesa boasts a low student-teacher ratio of 15.4, offering potential for more individual attention. The school has also seen a notable recent improvement among Hispanic students, who now rank in the 80th percentile statewide – a clear bright spot. While Mesa has stabilized since its 1-star years a decade ago, the central question for families is whether the school can close its significant math gap, especially given the high bar set by other Douglas County middle schools.

852

Students ?

15.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,003

Per pupil spending ?

25.6%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Colorado receive free school meals.

365 Mitchell Street
Castle Rock, CO 80104-2320

(303) 387-4750

District: Douglas County School District No. Re 1

Students who attend Mesa Middle School usually attend:

High:

Douglas County High School

Feeder schools for Mesa Middle School:

Elementary:	Castle Rock Elementary School
	Cherry Valley Elementary School
	Flagstone Elementary School
	Rock Ridge Elementary School
	More...
	Sage Canyon Elementary
	South Ridge Elementary An IB World School

Racial breakdown:

White:

68.4%

Hispanic:

22.8%

Two or more races:

5.3%

See top rated Colorado middle schools

Compare Mesa Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 29th percentile in 2016 → 67th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 38 percentile points since 2016

✓Above the Colorado median (67th percentile)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Near the bottom of Douglas County School District No. Re 1's ranking

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school44%

District avg60%

Colorado avg41%

159^th of 476

Colorado public middle schools ?

Top 33%▲ up 37 pts since 2016

From bottom 29% (2016) to top 33% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

8^th of 9Middle Schools in the Douglas County School District No. Re 1

6^th of 114Douglas County School District No. Re 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	60.3	159 of 476	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	56.6	171 of 469	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	57.1	177 of 485	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	63.9	141 of 480	70.6%	★★★★☆
2022	57.0	166 of 448	62.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	46.4	178 of 369	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	66.4	127 of 458	72.3%	★★★★☆
2018	58.8	146 of 418	65.1%	★★★☆☆
2017	27.9	302 of 424	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	28.2	282 of 400	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	37.2	264 of 436	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2014	58.0	179 of 461	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2013	69.9	129 of 454	71.6%	★★★★☆
2012	66.3	142 of 425	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	68.2	131 of 422	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2010	68.7	125 of 409	69.4%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	29.7	16 of 22	27.3%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	48.3	166 of 368	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	46.6	164 of 347	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.4	141 of 350	59.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	59.3	126 of 363	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	53.0	139 of 326	57.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	39.4	144 of 254	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	70.9	88 of 352	75.0%	★★★★☆
2018	58.3	117 of 315	62.9%	★★★☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	57.8	73 of 154	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	70.3	30 of 132	77.3%	★★★★☆
2024	68.5	33 of 126	73.8%	★★★★☆
2023	56.5	67 of 125	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	59.0	58 of 134	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.6	60 of 121	50.4%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	70.0	42 of 208	79.8%	★★★★☆
2025	48.3	97 of 218	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.6	98 of 199	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	65.7	49 of 198	75.3%	★★★★☆
2022	61.3	47 of 169	72.2%	★★★★☆
2021	47.6	40 of 83	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	59.6	73 of 220	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	59.7	56 of 165	66.1%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	41.9	124 of 231	46.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	38.0	144 of 241	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.1	161 of 244	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	61.7	60 of 241	75.1%	★★★★☆
2022	57.7	57 of 197	71.1%	★★★★☆
2021	66.0	21 of 114	81.6%	★★★★☆
2019	55.4	87 of 240	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.6	89 of 222	59.9%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	59.9	129 of 372	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	54.6	138 of 352	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	51.5	142 of 357	60.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	57.2	125 of 356	64.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	49.5	141 of 328	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	41.8	132 of 249	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	54.8	129 of 343	62.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	50.3	135 of 317	57.4%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2024	69.2	9 of 25	64.0%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2019	15.5	14 of 14	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	37.1	176 of 278	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	32.6	185 of 275	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.8	161 of 273	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	47.5	144 of 286	49.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	42.5	153 of 265	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	26.8	154 of 203	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	48.0	136 of 283	51.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	45.0	105 of 199	47.2%	★★☆☆☆

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)80th percentile+13 vs school

Male (2026)65th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2024)64th percentile~ school

Female (2026)55th percentile-12 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)53rd percentile-14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)46th percentile-20 vs school

White (2026)37th percentile-30 vs school

Disabled (2026)27th percentile-39 vs school

Special Education (2019)<1st percentile-72 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts53%+8 vs state

Science43%+8 vs state

Math35%~ state avg

2.5

4 ratings · 4 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★2

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, April 14, 2022

My kids attended Sage Canyon before Mesa, and Sage Canyon was amazing. People said to not send your kids to Douglas County Schools, and after Sage Canyon those comments didn't make sense. After my kids attended Mesa I understood their comments.
Mesa has a phenomenal principal but too many teachers seem to not care. They appear angry. This is understandable after the chaos of the shut downs during the pandemics and the poorly managed school board (it's terrible no matter what political side runs it -- It shouldn't be political and that's part of the problem).
My kids used to love school but are doing poorly now and say they hate it. From bullying at Mesa, to angry teachers, to a messed up school board, to the depression and separation the panic shut downs created, Douglas County Schools continue to fail students.
We are leaving Douglas County Schools for our kids. The school board and school can't do their job, in my opinion based on our experience, so we are saving our kids from them. Close Quote

by a parent
Monday, April 9, 2018

Outstanding school. great teachers, great staff, great administration. The staff is caring and really looks to help students achieve success in the middle school level. Close Quote

by a parent
Monday, December 19, 2016

Mesa has faced the same challenges that all schools face (poor funding, poor academic guidance, over-crowding, ...) the problems are the same year to year but with a few exceptions. Mesa is part of a County wide school district that has been caught at "cooking" the books and "cooking" student hours for eduction which has resulted in serious turnover and attrition (not because teachers were let go for poo performance but for high pay so that Administrative staff could get higher pay). With this the experience and talent pool has drained to the bottom. No child left behind is now common as most children at Mesa are left behind and either passed along like sheep or if they ask questions they are labeled as trouble makers and punished. I am removing my child form this caustic atmosphere and not allowing my other child to ago to this horrible shameful school. Where will they go, it certainly won't be the disgraceful criminal DCSD public schools, private and charter schools are the only choices left that are fully accredited so thats where we are forced to (as DCSD is also trying to keep those out as more and more families find out that DCSD is a failure of in Colorado). Close Quote

by a parent
Thursday, July 31, 2014

Now that Stephenson is gone, there is only one way to go, and that's up. Bring on the new school year and the new administration. Anything is better than the last. Looking forward to August. Close Quote

Schools Near Mesa 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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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
Mesa Middle School	Public	6-8	365 Mitchell Street	Castle Rock	80104	Douglas County	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	No	No	No	No	(303) 387-4750	852	55	15.4	25.6%	583 (68.4%)	11 (1.3%)	194 (22.8%)	12 (1.4%)	4 (0.5%)	3 (0.4%)	45 (5.3%)	60.3	159^th of 476 public middle schools	66.6%		56.6	171^st of 469 public middle schools	63.5%	12	52.0	55.4	49.8	52.6	34.5	34.6	36.7	35.4	43.4	$18,003
Sagewood Middle School	Public	6-8	4725 Fox Sparrow Road	Parker	80134	Douglas County	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	No	No	No	No	(303) 387-4300	816	49	16.6	17.0%	599 (73.4%)	12 (1.5%)	126 (15.4%)	16 (2.0%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	58 (7.1%)	69.7	128^th of 476 public middle schools	73.1%		63.6	144^th of 469 public middle schools	69.3%	16	54.9	62.9	51.6	56.6	40.9	39.7	45.2	41.8	47.6	$17,730
Castle Rock Middle School	Public	7-8	2575 Meadows Boulevard	Castle Rock	80109	Douglas County	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	No	No	No	No	(303) 387-1300	660	44	15.1	25.9%	454 (68.8%)	10 (1.5%)	141 (21.4%)	14 (2.1%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (5.6%)	59.2	165^th of 476 public middle schools	65.3%		60.6	154^th of 469 public middle schools	67.2%	11		53.7	46.2	49.7		40.7	42.1	41.4	35.4	$18,580
Cimarron Middle	Public	6-8	12130 Canterberry Pkwy	Parker	80138	Douglas County	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 433-0120	1,052	56	18.8	14.7%	755 (71.8%)	21 (2.0%)	153 (14.5%)	38 (3.6%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	82 (7.8%)	79.4	88^th of 476 public middle schools	81.5%		70.1	124^th of 469 public middle schools	73.6%	36	63.0	65.1	61.7	63.2	49.7	43.4	52.4	48.5	50.8	$16,417
Elizabeth Middle School	Public	6-8	34427 County Road 13	Elizabeth	80107	Elbert County	Elizabeth School District	No	No	No	No	(303) 646-4520	386	22	17.5	28.2%	298 (77.2%)	1 (0.3%)	64 (16.6%)	4 (1.0%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	16 (4.1%)	39.2	249^th of 476 public middle schools	47.7%		41.2	235^th of 469 public middle schools	49.9%	14	36.7	48.1	33.7	38.8	29.6	27.3	33.7	30.4	22.8	$14,502
Rocky Heights Middle School	Public	6-8	11033 Monarch Boulevard	Littleton	80124	Douglas County	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	No	No	No	No	(303) 387-3300	1,129	60	18.8	10.3%	782 (69.3%)	18 (1.6%)	125 (11.1%)	122 (10.8%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	79 (7.0%)	91.3	33^rd of 476 public middle schools	93.1%		92	28^th of 469 public middle schools	94.0%	5	67.6	81.9	60.6	70.2	61.1	66.2	63.8	63.7	65.4	$16,359
Sierra Middle School	Public	7-8	6651 Pine Lane Avenue	Parker	80138	Douglas County	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	No	No	No	No	(303) 387-3800	805	51	15.9	26.8%	512 (63.6%)	21 (2.6%)	176 (21.9%)	25 (3.1%)	6 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	64 (8.0%)	68.3	132^nd of 476 public middle schools	72.3%		66.1	140^th of 469 public middle schools	70.1%	8		51.5	51.1	51.3		43.0	48.5	45.6	48.0	$16,814
Mountain Ridge Middle School	Public	7-8	10590 Mountain Vista Ridge	Highlands Ranch	80126	Douglas County	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	No	No	No	No	(303) 387-1800	752	46	16.3	14.6%	571 (75.9%)	8 (1.1%)	91 (12.1%)	30 (4.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (6.8%)	89.7	38^th of 476 public middle schools	92.0%		90.2	37^th of 469 public middle schools	92.1%	1		70.4	75.0	72.7		57.8	66.8	62.3	53.8	$17,586
Cresthill Middle School	Public	7-8	9195 Cresthill Lane	Highlands Ranch	80130	Douglas County	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	No	No	No	No	(303) 387-2800	558	35	15.9	26.0%	356 (63.8%)	13 (2.3%)	117 (21.0%)	34 (6.1%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (6.5%)	79.7	86^th of 476 public middle schools	81.9%		82.3	63^rd of 469 public middle schools	86.6%	23		60.8	56.7	58.9		47.5	57.3	52.1	55.8	$19,240
Liberty Middle School	Public	6-8	21500 East Dry Creek Road	Aurora	80016	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	No	(720) 886-2400	868	52	16.5	37.8%	418 (48.2%)	85 (9.8%)	176 (20.3%)	95 (10.9%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	92 (10.6%)	79.9	83^rd of 476 public middle schools	82.6%		66.5	138^th of 469 public middle schools	70.6%	55	50.3	59.7	54.0	54.5	52.4	54.2	66.7	57.1	55.9	$17,693

Frequently Asked Questions about Mesa Middle School

Is Mesa Middle School a good school?

Mesa Middle School ranks 159^th of 476 Colorado middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What high school do graduates of Mesa Middle School attend?

Students who attend Mesa Middle School usually go on to attend Douglas County High School

What district is Mesa Middle School in?

Douglas County School District No. Re 1

How many students attend Mesa Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 852 students attended Mesa Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Mesa Middle School?

Students at Mesa Middle School are 68% White, 23% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 1% Asian, 1% African American.

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Latest Colorado data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026

2025–26 attendance dataOct 6, 2026

2025–26 CMAS, PSAT10, PSAT9 & SAT test scoresAug 19, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJun 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.