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Nisley Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

Summary

Nisley Elementary School is a PK–5 elementary school in Grand Junction, Colorado, serving 346 students as part of Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, which ranks in the 67th percentile statewide — but Nisley itself sits near the very bottom of Colorado elementary schools. In the 2024–2025 school year, Nisley ranked 805th out of 950 schools (15th percentile, 1 star), and it has never exceeded the 15th percentile since at least 2014–2015.

The most striking challenge at Nisley is chronic absenteeism: 43.9% of students were chronically absent in 2024–2025, compared to 36.7% districtwide and 28.4% statewide. No nearby school comes close — Chipeta Elementary is next at 34.2%, while New Emerson School at Columbus has a remarkably low 10.1% rate, roughly a quarter of Nisley's. This attendance crisis likely drives the school's academic outcomes: only 20% of Nisley students were proficient in English language arts and 19.7% in math in 2024–2025, the lowest of all comparable elementary schools in the area. By contrast, Independence Academy, just 1.3 miles away and serving a student body with an even higher poverty rate (87.6% free/reduced-price lunch), achieved 49.2% ELA proficiency — more than double Nisley's rate.

Another concern is a striking gender gap. Female students at Nisley ranked in the 30th percentile statewide in 2024–2025, while male students ranked in the 5th percentile — a 25-point disparity suggesting boys are falling behind at an especially high rate. The challenges appear systemic rather than limited to any one group, and even the school's white students ranked near the 1st percentile when compared to other schools statewide serving white students. There are modest signs of improvement: math proficiency rebounded from 10.7% to 19.7% and 5th-grade science jumped from 8.3% to 22.9%, yet both remain far below state averages. Given that nearby high-poverty schools substantially outperform Nisley, reducing chronic absenteeism through family engagement and community partnerships appears to be the most promising path forward.

346

Students ?

16.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

81.5%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Colorado receive free school meals.

543 28-3/4 Road
Grand Junction, CO 81501-7114

(970) 254-5900

District: Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

Students who attend Nisley Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Bookcliff Middle School
High:	Central High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

53.5%

Hispanic:

38.7%

Two or more races:

4.0%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 12th percentile in 2015 → 15th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (20% vs 40% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (44% vs 28% Colorado)

!English Language Arts scores 25 pts below the Colorado average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school20%

District avg39%

Colorado avg40%

Not ranked this year

Nisley Elementary School did not have enough recent test-score data to be ranked. Check the trend below for past years.

38^th of 114Mesa 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	15.0	805 of 950	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.1	879 of 943	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.0	828 of 933	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.8	800 of 921	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	9.9	696 of 710	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.0	869 of 965	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.1	790 of 917	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	11.3	859 of 929	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	14.2	811 of 914	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	14.5	826 of 938	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	18.8	799 of 962	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	32.8	679 of 954	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	29.1	697 of 935	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	16.4	806 of 935	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	18.0	777 of 925	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	21.1	709 of 872	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	26.5	663 of 849	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	29.1	648 of 852	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	35.7	577 of 829	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2005	39.4	551 of 823	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2004	53.1	412 of 808	49.0%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	27.9	484 of 694	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	14.7	565 of 642	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.5	498 of 595	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.4	676 of 758	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.0	547 of 690	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	8.3	668 of 700	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.0	608 of 649	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.7	583 of 594	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.1	734 of 764	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.9	628 of 693	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2023	5.4	520 of 525	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.6	585 of 596	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Female (2025)30th percentile+15 vs school

Male (2025)5th percentile-11 vs school

White (2023)1st percentile-10 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?

Science23%-16 vs state

English Language Arts20%-25 vs state

Math20%-16 vs state

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What people are saying

by a parent
Tuesday, May 23, 2017

This is by far the worst Elementary school in the district. Had I known in advance how bad this school was, I NEVER would have enrolled my son here. My son has a diagnosis of ADHD/ODD. The staff did an extremely poor job dealing with him and his diagnosis. He spent almost the entire first half of the year in the office with noise cancelling head phones on, without ever notifying me. They also forgot to feed him lunch on more than one occasion. They took away all gym and recesses until I found out. They waited till the last minute to take away most field trips. He was singled out the entire year. Even when I knew my son was being honest about an incident, they still punished him. Most of the time I was not notified when he was disciplined. We all were told at the beginning of the school year that he had lost the privilege of going on the end of year camp trip due to his behavior. It took more than 3 years to convince the staff that he needed a 504 plan and they just kept shooting me down. This school and it's staff lost mine and my husbands respect in the second year of my son's attendance. If you have a child with special needs, I STRONGLY recommend you find a better school for your child. My son is also exceptionally smart, but because of his behavior, they refused to put him in any AP classes. Instead, they allowed him to become extremely bored, which only exasperated his behavior. They acted like they were listening to us parents, however, we felt like anything we said fell upon deaf ears. If I could grade this school, they would receive a BIG FAT F! Close Quote

Schools Near Nisley Elementary 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 Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				PSAT10 Reading and Writing (2026)	PSAT10 Mathematics (2026)	PSAT9 Reading and Writing (2026)	PSAT9 Mathematics (2026)	SAT Reading and Writing (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	CMAS English Language Arts (2026)							CMAS Math (2026)							CMAS Science (2026)			Vaccination (2025-26)		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	PSAT10 Reading and Writing 10th Grade	PSAT10 Mathematics 10th Grade	PSAT9 Reading and Writing 9th Grade	PSAT9 Mathematics 9th Grade	SAT Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	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 3rd Grade	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	CMAS Science 11th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners fully immunized against measles (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	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%)	22.9	347^th of 476 public middle schools	27.1%		14.7	411^th of 469 public middle schools	12.4%	64										34.5	32.7	28.2	32.0				12.9	17.3	19.5	16.4		16.3				$17,300
Orchard Avenue Elementary School	Public	K-5	1800 Orchard Ave	Grand Junction	81501	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-7560	319	22	14.3	60.5%	238 (74.6%)	1 (0.3%)	65 (20.4%)	4 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.1%)	40	514^th of 946 public elementary schools	45.7%		54.3	411^th of 950 public elementary schools	56.7%	103							35.8	42.9	41.8				40.3	35.7	31.6	32.8				33.3	36.8			83%	5.7%	$17,754
Independence Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	675 29 Rd	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	Yes	No	No	No	(970) 254-6850	491	28	17.2	87.6%	414 (84.3%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (12.2%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.4%)	54.3	407^th of 946 public elementary schools	57.0%		54.2	413^th of 950 public elementary schools	56.5%	6							38.5	55.8	40.8	53.0	41.4	50.9	47.1	50.0	38.5	32.7	37.0	30.4	33.3	36.7	36.2	49.0		95.8%	4.2%	$12,523
Fruitvale Elementary School	Public	K-5	585 30 Road	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-5930	358	28	13.0	70.1%	223 (62.3%)	1 (0.3%)	118 (33.0%)	3 (0.8%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (2.5%)	16.5	797^th of 946 public elementary schools	15.8%		27.2	642^nd of 950 public elementary schools	32.4%	155							31.4	17.6	28.6				25.6	31.0	13.3	14.3				19.6	12.9			64.5%	1.3%	$17,493
R-5 High School	Public	9-12	455 N. 22nd St.Ste. B	Grand Junction	81501	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-6880	207	17	12.4	66.2%	107 (51.7%)	2 (1.0%)	84 (40.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.3%)								(n/a)					413.0	370.0																	706.0			$20,172
Grand Mesa Academy	Public	5-12	360 28 Rd	Grand Junction	81501	Mesa County	Division of Youth Services	No	No	No	No	(970) 242-1521				—															(n/a)																										$00
Grand Mesa Youth Services Center	Public	5-12	360 28 Road	Grand Junction	81501	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	No	(970) 242-8445	18	2	10.2	—	12 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (33.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																										$00
Pear Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	432 30 1/4 Road	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-5960	428	29	15.0	70.8%	267 (62.4%)	1 (0.2%)	149 (34.8%)	2 (0.5%)	5 (1.2%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	28	644^th of 946 public elementary schools	31.9%		28.4	631^st of 950 public elementary schools	33.6%	13							28.8	28.8	37.1				31.9	37.7	31.8	31.4				33.3	15.7			94.7%	1.8%	$17,530
Chipeta Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	950 Chipeta Avenue	Grand Junction	81501	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-6825	364	25	14.6	76.4%	193 (53.0%)	4 (1.1%)	147 (40.4%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.1%)	39	524^th of 946 public elementary schools	44.6%		44.5	493^rd of 950 public elementary schools	48.1%	31							36.4	38.9	45.1				40.6	40.0	20.4	36.6				32.8	32.9			91.9%	0%	$17,452
Tope Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2220 N 7th St	Grand Junction	81501	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-7070	370	19	19.0	47.3%	252 (68.1%)	2 (0.5%)	91 (24.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	21 (5.7%)	50.6	431^st of 946 public elementary schools	54.4%		59.7	362^nd of 950 public elementary schools	61.9%	69							42.2	53.8	55.2				50.7	50.0	36.8	31.0				38.6	30.5			76.7%	4.6%	$15,753

Frequently Asked Questions about Nisley Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Nisley Elementary School?

Students at Nisley Elementary School are 53% White, 39% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 1% African American, 1% American Indian.

How many students attend Nisley Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 346 students attended Nisley Elementary School.

What district is Nisley Elementary School in?

Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

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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.