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Big Thompson Elementary School

Q: Is Big Thompson Elementary School a good school?

Big Thompson Elementary School ranks 505 th of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

505^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 946 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 47% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Big Thompson Elementary School is a small K-5 school in Loveland, CO, serving 179 students as part of the Thompson School District R-2J. Located in a relatively low-poverty area—just 24.6% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch—the school also enjoys a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.7. But after years as one of the district's standout schools (ranking in the 80th–84th percentile as recently as 2021–2022), Big Thompson Elementary School has fallen to the 46th percentile (2 stars) in the 2025–2026 state rankings, a significant and steady decline from its former elite status.

Academically, the trends are concerning. Math proficiency has dropped from 44.8% in 2022–2023 to just 28.2% today, now well below the district (33.5%) and state (37.3%) averages. Reading (ELA) is slightly above average overall at 47.1%, but that number is propped up by a strong 5th grade class (64.7% proficient); 3rd graders are struggling at just 30%. Science scores have collapsed too, falling from 57.7% proficient in 2022–2023 to 32.4%—now below the state average. The school's former strengths with subgroups, including male and low-income students, have also faded significantly.

Perhaps the biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism, which surged from 18.7% to 28.0% in a single year. Nearby Ponderosa Elementary, just 3.7 miles away with nearly identical demographics, has a chronic absenteeism rate of just 10.2% and ranks in the 67th percentile. Big Thompson's math scores trail lower-poverty peers like Ponderosa (43.0%) and Garfield Elementary School (38.3%), and even schools with much higher poverty like Lincoln Elementary School (28.8%). With its low poverty rate, small classes, and capable 5th grade cohort, Big Thompson has the ingredients for success—but the current trajectory suggests the school is not converting its advantages into outcomes the way it once did.

179

Students ?

12.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,036

Per pupil spending ?

24.6%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Colorado receive free school meals.

76.9%

Kindergartners fully immunized against measles (MMR) (2025-26)

Exemptions: 23.1% (MMR)

7702 West Highway 34
Loveland, CO 80538-9454

(970) 613-5600

District: Thompson School District R-2j

Students who attend Big Thompson Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Walt Clark Middle School
High:	Thompson Valley High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

78.2%

Hispanic:

12.8%

Two or more races:

6.1%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare Big Thompson Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 75th percentile in 2016 → 47th in 2026

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 28 percentile points since 2016

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school37%

District avg39%

Colorado avg41%

505^th of 946

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 47%▼ down 28 pts since 2016

From top 25% (2016) to bottom 47% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

12^th of 20Elementary Schools in the Thompson School District R-2j

35^th of 114Thompson School District R-2j 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	41.1	505 of 946	46.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	51.3	437 of 950	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	61.0	354 of 943	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	66.2	285 of 933	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	81.5	149 of 921	83.8%	★★★★☆
2021	80.4	152 of 710	78.6%	★★★★☆
2019	72.9	232 of 965	76.0%	★★★★☆
2018	80.4	166 of 917	81.9%	★★★★☆
2017	77.4	189 of 929	79.7%	★★★★☆
2016	72.5	228 of 914	75.1%	★★★★☆
2015	80.1	161 of 938	82.8%	★★★★☆
2014	78.2	189 of 962	80.4%	★★★★☆
2013	69.3	290 of 954	69.6%	★★★☆☆
2012	56.8	435 of 935	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2011	53.7	480 of 935	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2010	66.0	332 of 925	64.1%	★★★☆☆
2009	59.3	385 of 872	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2008	66.4	297 of 849	65.0%	★★★☆☆
2007	56.9	409 of 852	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2006	60.2	367 of 829	55.7%	★★★☆☆
2005	66.4	292 of 823	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2004	81.9	126 of 808	84.4%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	45.2	354 of 694	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	65.9	228 of 758	69.9%	★★★★☆
2018	63.1	217 of 690	68.6%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2018	93.4	6 of 308	98.1%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	58.1	270 of 700	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	92.7	31 of 764	95.9%	★★★★★
2018	82.2	101 of 693	85.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2019	57.5	233 of 596	60.9%	★★★☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2018)98th percentile+16 vs school

Male (2025)61st percentile+7 vs school

White (2019)61st percentile-15 vs school

Female (2025)49th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts47%~ state avg

Science32%-4 vs state

Math28%-9 vs state

3.5

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

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2★1

1★0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Basically, the school has good and kind teachers who are following bad marching orders. Both of my kids got a weak foundation in math that they'll probably never fully overcome. I never saw any evidence of STEM being more than a buzzword that the school paid lip service to.

Some specific memories:
When a problem kid threw a fit, did they haul his butt out of the classroom? No. Instead, they had all the OTHER kids leave the room and go to a neighboring classroom, halting the learning of two full classes of kids. Crazy.
Being told that "Math isn't taught the way we learned it" (i.e. lots of practice). "It's taught at a conceptual level now" (i.e. they show several different ways to do it - causing confusion - but don't assign enough problems to internalize any one of them). This "new math" teaching goes against ALL research on effective learning.
My daughter getting a "3" on their silly 4-point scale, on a spelling test where she got all 10 words and two bonus words correct. Why? "3" means "meeting expectations", and she was a good speller. "4" was literally unreachable. Crazy.

What terrifies me is that this is probably a good proxy for the average modern American elementary school. The goal is NOT to help each kid reach his or her full potential. It's more about going at the pace of the slowest kid in the class so nobody is left behind. Close Quote

by a parent
Monday, August 28, 2017

Absolutely thrilled with Big T, happy with a rigorous kindergarten experience. The teachers and administration expect great results from the kids, and support them to make it possible. Close Quote

Schools Near Big Thompson 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)				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	CMAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts All Grades	CMAS Math 3rd Grade	CMAS Math 4th Grade	CMAS Math 5th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 5th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners fully immunized against measles (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Total
Big Thompson Elementary School	Public	K-5	7702 West Highway 34	Loveland	80538	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	No	(970) 613-5600	179	14	12.7	24.6%	140 (78.2%)	2 (1.1%)	23 (12.8%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (6.1%)	41.1	505^th of 946 public elementary schools	46.6%		51.3	437^th of 950 public elementary schools	54.0%	68	30.0	42.9	64.7	47.1	16.7	23.8	41.2	28.2	32.4	76.9%	23.1%	$19,036
Namaqua Elementary School	Public	K-5	209 North County Road 19e	Loveland	80537	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	No	(970) 613-6600	236	17	14.0	35.2%	177 (75.0%)	1 (0.4%)	38 (16.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (7.6%)	40.7	510^th of 946 public elementary schools	46.1%		50.4	439^th of 950 public elementary schools	53.8%	71	32.5	41.7	61.1	44.6	32.5	19.4	30.6	27.7	41.7	86.2%	13.8%	$18,776
Ponderosa Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4550 Florence Drive	Loveland	80538	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	No	(970) 679-9500	335	21	15.7	22.7%	259 (77.3%)	3 (0.9%)	61 (18.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.6%)	64.3	314^th of 946 public elementary schools	66.8%		69	276^th of 950 public elementary schools	70.9%	38	62.5	58.3	56.7	58.8	53.7	39.6	38.3	43.0	44.1	97.1%	2.9%	$17,716
Centennial Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1555 West 37th Street	Loveland	80538	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	No	(970) 613-5800	324	20	15.9	30.6%	217 (67.0%)	2 (0.6%)	72 (22.2%)	10 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	22 (6.8%)	45.2	466^th of 946 public elementary schools	50.7%		53.6	417^th of 950 public elementary schools	56.1%	49	33.3	54.0	57.6	48.5	22.2	42.0	30.5	31.3	36.2	93.3%	4.4%	$17,238
Sarah Milner Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	743 Jocelyn Drive	Loveland	80537	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 613-6700	264	18	14.8	53.4%	160 (60.6%)	2 (0.8%)	88 (33.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.9%)	29.7	627^th of 946 public elementary schools	33.7%		22.9	697^th of 950 public elementary schools	26.6%	70	23.7	56.7	43.8	40.0	13.2	33.3	18.8	21.0	720.0	96.8%	3.2%	$17,802
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3312 North Douglas Avenue	Loveland	80538	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 613-6200	196	12	16.0	47.4%	118 (60.2%)	2 (1.0%)	61 (31.1%)	2 (1.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (6.1%)	57.1	387^th of 946 public elementary schools	59.1%		47.4	469^th of 950 public elementary schools	50.6%	82	715.0	52.0	747.0	39.4	717.0	36.0	739.0	28.8	47.4	87.5%	12.5%	$21,045
Garfield Elementary School	Public	K-5	720 Colorado Avenue	Loveland	80537	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	No	(970) 613-6000	213	16	13.2	45.1%	158 (74.2%)	2 (0.9%)	44 (20.7%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.8%)	49	440^th of 946 public elementary schools	53.5%		51.6	433^rd of 950 public elementary schools	54.4%	7	64.5	59.1	30.3	51.9	48.4	40.9	25.0	38.3	18.2	94.6%	5.4%	$19,748
B F Kitchen Elementary School	Public	K-5	915 Deborah Drive	Loveland	80537	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 613-5500	159	13	12.1	46.5%	97 (61.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (28.3%)	2 (1.3%)	3 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (7.5%)	29.8	626^th of 946 public elementary schools	33.8%		34.5	576^th of 950 public elementary schools	39.4%	50	33.3	24.0	36.7	31.6	50.0	16.0	30.0	31.6	23.3	77.8%	22.2%	$22,463
Laurene Edmondson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	307 West 49th Street	Loveland	80538	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 613-6300	235	16	14.7	63.8%	127 (54.0%)	6 (2.6%)	88 (37.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (5.5%)	19.4	749^th of 946 public elementary schools	20.8%		18.6	758^th of 950 public elementary schools	20.2%	9	15.4	36.6	37.1	31.4	18.5	18.6	14.3	17.1	22.9	88.5%	11.5%	$18,007
Truscott Elementary School	Public	K-5	211 West 6th Street	Loveland	80537	Larimer County	Thompson School District R-2j	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 613-6900	194	18	10.6	50.5%	87 (44.8%)	0 (0.0%)	97 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	9 (4.6%)	20.4	739^th of 946 public elementary schools	21.9%		13.6	824^th of 950 public elementary schools	13.3%	85	32.1	30.3	33.3	31.8	32.1	9.1	11.1	17.0	22.2	97.4%	2.6%	$21,141

Frequently Asked Questions about Big Thompson Elementary School

What schools do graduates of Big Thompson Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Big Thompson Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Walt Clark Middle School
High : Thompson Valley High School

What district is Big Thompson Elementary School in?

Thompson School District R-2j

How many students attend Big Thompson Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 179 students attended Big Thompson Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Big Thompson Elementary School?

Students at Big Thompson Elementary School are 78% White, 13% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 2% American Indian, 1% African American.

Is Big Thompson Elementary School a good school?

Big Thompson Elementary School ranks 505^th of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Big Thompson Elementary School!

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Latest Colorado data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 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.