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Bookcliff Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

411^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 469 Colorado Middle Schools

Better than 12% of Colorado middle schools

Summary

Bookcliff Middle School is a public middle school in Grand Junction, Colorado, serving 565 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, which is ranked 40 out of 115 school districts in the state.

Bookcliff Middle School faces significant academic challenges, consistently underperforming compared to the district and state averages on standardized tests. In the 2024-2025 school year, only 21.4% of Bookcliff students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 43.1% for the district and 44.8% for the state. In math, only 14.1% of Bookcliff students were proficient or better, compared to 34.7% for the district and 35.9% for the state. The school also struggles to support the academic achievement of various student subgroups, with large performance gaps compared to the district and state.

Bookcliff Middle School's challenges extend beyond academics. The school has significantly higher chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 27.7% in the 2023-2024 school year, compared to the state average of 35.2%. Additionally, the school has consistently higher dropout rates than the state average, ranging from 1.8% to 2.2% over the past few years, compared to the state average of around 1.9%. These factors, combined with the high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, suggest that the school may be struggling to provide equitable educational opportunities for all students. Nearby schools, such as Redlands Middle School and Orchard Mesa Middle School, consistently outperform Bookcliff Middle School on academic measures, indicating that there is room for improvement at Bookcliff.

525

Students ?

13.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,301

Per pupil spending ?

72.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2935 Orchard Ave
Grand Junction, CO 81504

(970) 254-6220

District: Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

Students who attend Bookcliff Middle School usually attend:

High:

Central High School

Feeder schools for Bookcliff Middle School:

Elementary:	Nisley Elementary School
	Thunder Mountain Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

49.0%

White:

44.4%

Two or more races:

4.0%

See top rated Colorado middle schools

Compare Bookcliff Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 47th percentile in 2015 → 12th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (18% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (48% vs 28% Colorado)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school18%

District avg39%

Colorado avg40%

411^th of 469

Colorado public middle schools ?

Bottom 12%▼ down 35 pts since 2015

From bottom 47% (2015) to bottom 12% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 7Middle Schools in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

40^th of 115Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 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
2025	14.7	411 of 469	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	396 of 485	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.8	356 of 480	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.5	290 of 448	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.3	269 of 369	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.1	388 of 458	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.8	303 of 418	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	24.4	319 of 424	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	23.8	313 of 400	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	42.4	231 of 436	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2014	43.2	264 of 461	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2013	39.4	294 of 454	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	46.1	242 of 425	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2011	39.4	271 of 422	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2010	42.4	255 of 409	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2009	31.5	281 of 377	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	27.4	281 of 362	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	43.8	223 of 360	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2006	37.5	239 of 346	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2005	37.5	234 of 340	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2004	38.2	225 of 336	33.0%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	14.5	307 of 347	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	289 of 350	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.1	278 of 363	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.6	217 of 326	33.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	21.7	215 of 254	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.6	307 of 352	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.9	244 of 315	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2024	23.5	160 of 199	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.0	143 of 198	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	19.4	216 of 241	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.1	224 of 244	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	28.5	175 of 241	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	45.8	88 of 197	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	33.1	82 of 114	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.6	221 of 240	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	29.2	161 of 222	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	10.7	328 of 352	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.9	325 of 357	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.8	279 of 356	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.4	228 of 328	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.9	193 of 249	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.3	301 of 343	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.8	261 of 317	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	4.8	270 of 275	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.6	270 of 273	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	21.0	232 of 286	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.9	220 of 265	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.7	165 of 203	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	8.9	270 of 283	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.8	175 of 199	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2024)20th percentile~ school

Female (2025)12th percentile~ school

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

Male (2025)7th percentile-6 vs school

White (2025)2nd percentile-11 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts21%-23 vs state

Science18%-18 vs state

Math14%-22 vs state

★

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Schools Near Bookcliff Middle School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CMAS English Language Arts (2025)				CMAS Math (2025)				CMAS Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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
Bookcliff Middle School	Public	6-8	2935 Orchard Ave	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	No	(970) 254-6220	525	38	13.7	72.6%	233 (44.4%)	5 (1.0%)	257 (49.0%)	4 (0.8%)	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.0%)	14.7	411^th of 469 public middle schools	12.4%		16.4	396^th of 485 public middle schools	18.4%	15	23.5	19.4	20.8	21.4	12.6	15.1	14.7	14.1	18.2	$16,301
Grand Mesa Middle School	Public	6-8	585 31-1/2 Road	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	No	(970) 254-6270	476	32	14.9	64.5%	272 (57.1%)	3 (0.6%)	173 (36.3%)	9 (1.9%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (3.4%)	16.9	393^rd of 469 public middle schools	16.2%		12.8	432^nd of 485 public middle schools	10.9%	39	24.6	29.2	19.6	25.1	18.1	15.5	8.0	14.3	19.5	$13,822
Orchard Mesa Middle School	Public	6-8	2736 Unaweep Ave #a	Grand Junction	81503	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	No	(970) 254-6320	560	35	15.9	58.9%	389 (69.5%)	0 (0.0%)	139 (24.8%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (5.0%)	50.8	196^th of 469 public middle schools	58.2%		52.3	197^th of 485 public middle schools	59.4%	1	49.4	40.0	46.2	45.1	32.1	27.1	34.9	31.2	51.2	$14,519
West Middle School	Public	6-8	123 W Orchard Ave	Grand Junction	81505	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	No	(970) 254-5090	468	29	16.4	52.1%	313 (66.9%)	6 (1.3%)	112 (23.9%)	7 (1.5%)	6 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.1%)	42.3	232^nd of 469 public middle schools	50.5%		36.4	270^th of 485 public middle schools	44.3%	38	40.4	45.3	45.4	43.7	24.1	17.3	38.0	25.9	37.0	$14,498
Mount Garfield Middle School	Public	6-8	3475 Front Street	Clifton	81520	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-4720	569	34	16.7	68.7%	338 (59.4%)	5 (0.9%)	201 (35.3%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.2%)	29.8	317^th of 469 public middle schools	32.4%		26.7	333^rd of 485 public middle schools	31.3%	16	30.9	39.5	38.8	36.3	24.9	15.6	21.6	20.7	27.0	$15,072
Redlands Middle School	Public	6-8	2200 Broadway	Grand Junction	81507	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	No	(970) 254-7000	632	37	17.3	25.3%	532 (84.2%)	4 (0.6%)	64 (10.1%)	6 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	22 (3.5%)	85.9	53^rd of 469 public middle schools	88.7%		79.7	76^th of 485 public middle schools	84.3%	23	64.9	65.6	57.6	62.9	54.0	59.4	59.9	57.7	68.9	$14,392
Fruita Middle School	Public	6-8	1835 J Rd	Fruita	81521	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	No	(970) 254-6570	690	40	17.3	39.1%	554 (80.3%)	2 (0.3%)	99 (14.3%)	5 (0.7%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	25 (3.6%)	42.6	231^st of 469 public middle schools	50.7%		40.8	243^rd of 485 public middle schools	49.9%	12	41.1	37.2	37.9	38.8	23.9	31.9	41.6	32.1	34.2	$14,951

Frequently Asked Questions about Bookcliff Middle School

Is Bookcliff Middle School a good school?

Bookcliff Middle School ranks in the bottom 12.4% of Colorado middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Bookcliff Middle School attend?

Students who attend Bookcliff Middle School usually go on to attend Central High School

What is the racial makeup of Bookcliff Middle School?

Students at Bookcliff Middle School are 49% Hispanic, 44% White, 4% Two or more races.

What district is Bookcliff Middle School in?

Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

How many students attend Bookcliff Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 525 students attended Bookcliff Middle School.

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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.