Eads High School

Eads High School is a very small rural high school in Eads, Colorado, serving grades 9–12 with just 48 students as part of Kiowa County School District RE-1. Located on Colorado's eastern plains, Eads operates with an extremely low student-teacher ratio of roughly 7.7 to 1, creating a highly personalized learning environment. In 2025–2026, Eads ranked 125th out of 338 Colorado high schools, placing it in the 63rd percentile with a 3-star rating, following an even stronger 4-star performance the year before when it ranked 84th of 328 schools.

Academically, the school meets or exceeds the state average on every reported test. For example, 11th graders scored 62% proficient in SAT Reading/Writing versus 60% statewide, and 38% in SAT Math versus 32% statewide. The gaps are larger elsewhere: 10th graders posted a 53% proficiency rate in PSAT Math compared to 36% statewide, and 11th-grade CMAS Science proficiency reached 37.5% versus 24.8% statewide. Graduation rates are also strong, hitting 100% in both 2020–2021 and 2021–2022, with dropout rates as low as 0.0% in two recent years. This performance is especially notable given that more than 60% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, yet the school consistently outperforms expectations for its size and demographics.

Eads compares very favorably to its nearest comparable school, Kit Carson Junior-Senior High School, which has a similar poverty level but a recent graduation rate of just 66.7% versus the Colorado state average of 85.6%. Eads also shows lower chronic absenteeism — 16.3% in 2024–2025 compared to 21.4% at Kit Carson and 28.4% statewide — and improved sharply from 28.0% the prior year. With a slightly better student-teacher ratio than Kit Carson (7.7-to-1 versus 8.1-to-1), Eads appears to be doing many things right. The main risk is sustainability: with only 48 students, a few high or low performers can shift the school's ranking significantly from year to year. Still, the current data paints a picture of a resilient, high-touch school outperforming surrounding institutions.