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Cactus Valley Elementary School

Q: Is Cactus Valley Elementary School a good school?

Cactus Valley Elementary School ranks 651 st of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

651^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 946 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 31% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Cactus Valley Elementary School in Silt, CO, serves 462 students in grades PK-5, making it the largest elementary school in the immediate Garfield School District No. Re-2 cluster. The school ranks in the 31st percentile statewide (650th of 943 Colorado elementary schools) with 2 stars, which is stronger than the district's 20th percentile overall but still well below state averages on most academic measures.

The school's clearest strength is attendance: only 10.1% of students are chronically absent, compared to 18.1% for the district and 28.4% statewide. Every comparable school in the area has a higher rate, from Kathryn Senor Elementary School at 14.2% to Wamsley Elementary School at 31.9%. Math is also a relative bright spot: 31.7% of students are proficient, well above the district's 23.9% and trailing only Kathryn Senor (33.9%) among same-district peers. In 5th-grade science, Cactus Valley posted 25.7% proficiency, the highest in the local Garfield cluster, and its free/reduced lunch rate of 41.1% is the lowest among comparable district schools.

However, English Language Arts is a growing concern. ELA proficiency has declined from 39.3% in 2023-24 to 29.3% in 2025-26, dropping below the district average, and 3rd-grade ELA sits at just 20.6%. Subgroup rankings are also troubling: White students rank in the 10th percentile statewide, low-income students in the 15th, and the school's low-SES ranking fell from the 46th percentile to the 15th in one year. Compared to Sopris Elementary School in the Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1—which has a similar poverty rate—Cactus Valley trails significantly in both ELA (29.3% vs. 44.4%) and math (31.7% vs. 48.6%), despite better attendance. The school has a solid foundation, but literacy and equity-focused instruction will determine whether it returns to its 2018-19 level (60th percentile) or continues to plateau.

462

Students ?

16.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,436

Per pupil spending ?

41.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

222 Grand Avenue
Silt, CO 81652-9314

(970) 665-7850

District: Garfield School District No. Re-2

Students who attend Cactus Valley Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Riverside School
High:	Coal Ridge High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

54.1%

Hispanic:

44.4%

Two or more races:

1.1%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare Cactus Valley Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 36th percentile in 2016 → 31st in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (30% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 5 percentile points since 2016

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school30%

District avg26%

Colorado avg41%

651^st of 946

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 31%▼ down 5 pts since 2016

From bottom 36% (2016) to bottom 31% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 6Elementary Schools in the Garfield School District No. Re-2

91^st of 114Garfield School District No. Re-2 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	27.7	651 of 946	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	34.9	573 of 950	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.9	579 of 943	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.1	653 of 933	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.0	580 of 921	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	35.1	484 of 710	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	56.9	390 of 965	59.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	43.2	489 of 917	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2017	43.7	470 of 929	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2016	32.9	584 of 914	36.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	50.4	425 of 938	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2014	65.4	328 of 962	65.9%	★★★☆☆
2013	63.9	358 of 954	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2012	72.0	260 of 935	72.2%	★★★★☆
2011	64.3	355 of 935	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2010	52.0	499 of 925	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2009	46.3	509 of 872	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2008	54.9	425 of 849	49.9%	★★★☆☆
2007	58.1	396 of 852	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2006	64.2	326 of 829	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2005	62.7	337 of 823	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2004	71.3	241 of 808	70.2%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	16.9	589 of 695	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	30.0	469 of 694	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	23.4	525 of 684	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.6	500 of 642	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.4	436 of 595	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.0	301 of 351	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	48.5	363 of 758	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	27.6	504 of 690	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	24.1	274 of 322	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	44.3	183 of 337	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	39.6	55 of 75	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	63.0	94 of 332	71.7%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	27.2	484 of 697	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	24.4	505 of 700	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.2	472 of 683	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	24.8	479 of 649	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.3	424 of 594	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.7	301 of 352	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	51.9	332 of 764	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	42.0	366 of 693	47.2%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	15.8	494 of 547	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	22.0	460 of 551	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.4	440 of 539	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.4	476 of 525	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	23.6	382 of 454	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.5	253 of 288	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	48.3	304 of 596	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.4	231 of 337	31.5%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Male (2026)31st percentile~ school

Female (2026)15th percentile-16 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)15th percentile-16 vs school

White (2026)10th percentile-21 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

Math32%-6 vs state

English Language Arts29%-15 vs state

Science26%-10 vs state

4.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

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What people are saying

by a parent on FaceBook
Tuesday, October 14, 2014

this is my childs first year in silt, she is in 4th grade. after changing schools from the school she had been in since kindergarten she fell a little behind, im assuming new kids a new place wer some of the factors, but the fourth grade team was great about getting on top of it quick and letting me know before she was too behind to catch up.great teachers!! Close Quote

by a parent on FaceBook
Wednesday, January 11, 2012

I personally grew up in the RE-2 School District and have recently relocated my family back to Silt from Jefferson County. Our daughter attended Kindergarten and the 1st Quarter in the Jefferson County School District. Before she left the school we met with her teacher to better know where she was with her knowledge level. We were advised that she was below average with Reading, Writing, and Math. Based on our working with her she was doing well and we think she might have struggled with Auditory learning as I had the same problem in elementary school. We spoke with her new teacher of the report we were given and the concerns we had about the diagnosis. She was put into reading supplement classes and phonics classes to catch her up. Within a week of her attending these courses we immediately noticed an improvement in her reading and writing skills. Unlike her old school she had a book that matched her skill level, was brought home daily and has a new book every 4 days. Her old school would send a book home for 1 night that she would get at best once every other week and was very simple. We now believe that the level of books she was reading at her old school were too easy for her and now after Christmas break after 3 months in school she is at a high reading level and is doing great. Cactus Valley is great about customizing children's learning experience to bring everyone up to speed with the class. Our daughter has made vast improvements in her math through counting coins in her classroom and making wonderful strides.

Other benefits we noticed:
She also went from being in a class of over 30 to being the 19th student in her class at CV.
She now has Art and Music classes which were cut from her other school.

The only concern I have about the district in general was a recent tax hike proposition to fund the schools better that was voted down in the last election and the district is talking about closing other schools in the district. The Bus schedule is also a little delayed because of the rural area so we drive our daughter to school and back everyday. Close Quote

Schools Near Cactus Valley 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 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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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 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	Total
Cactus Valley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	222 Grand Avenue	Silt	81652	Garfield County	Garfield School District No. Re-2	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 665-7850	462	28	16.5	41.1%	250 (54.1%)	0 (0.0%)	205 (44.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)	27.7	651^st of 946 public elementary schools	31.2%		34.9	573^rd of 950 public elementary schools	39.7%	78	20.6	30.0	37.1				29.3	30.9	38.0	26.1				31.7	25.7		$15,436
Graham Mesa Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1575 Farmstead Parkway	Rifle	81650	Garfield County	Garfield School District No. Re-2	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 665-7500	424	22	19.3	46.7%	169 (39.9%)	0 (0.0%)	252 (59.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	18.2	770^th of 946 public elementary schools	18.6%		19.4	749^th of 950 public elementary schools	21.2%	21	9.8	39.7	27.4				25.8	27.4	19.0	16.4				21.0	19.7		$14,997
Highland Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1500 East 7th Street	Rifle	81650	Garfield County	Garfield School District No. Re-2	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 665-6800	451	28	16.3	57.2%	123 (27.3%)	5 (1.1%)	313 (69.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.2%)	15	814^th of 946 public elementary schools	14.0%		20.3	737^th of 950 public elementary schools	22.4%	77	13.9	25.7	32.1				23.2	27.8	24.3	7.1				20.7	8.9		$15,246
Wamsley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	225 East 30th Street	Rifle	81650	Garfield County	Garfield School District No. Re-2	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 665-7950	420	16	26.4	60.5%	103 (24.5%)	4 (1.0%)	303 (72.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.1%)	12	858^th of 946 public elementary schools	9.3%		20.9	726^th of 950 public elementary schools	23.6%	132	12.7	29.4	34.5				25.6	5.5	10.0	13.6				9.8	13.6		$15,591
Elk Creek Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	804 West Main Street	New Castle	81647	Garfield County	Garfield School District No. Re-2	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 665-6900	272	19	14.1	46.0%	129 (47.4%)	0 (0.0%)	135 (49.6%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.2%)	18.6	767^th of 946 public elementary schools	18.9%		21.6	715^th of 950 public elementary schools	24.7%	52	14.3	27.3	28.6				23.4	34.3	25.0	17.9				26.2	14.3		$19,470
Kathryn Senor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	101 Alder Avenue	New Castle	81647	Garfield County	Garfield School District No. Re-2	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 665-7700	275	19	14.5	44.7%	139 (50.5%)	1 (0.4%)	133 (48.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	28.1	643^rd of 946 public elementary schools	32.0%		41.4	519^th of 950 public elementary schools	45.4%	124	21.6	31.0	34.8				29.6	41.0	26.2	34.8				33.9	20.0		$18,794
Two Rivers Community School	Public, Charter	K-8	195 Center Drive	Glenwood Springs	81602	Garfield County	Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(970) 384-4488	390	31	12.5	30.3%	235 (60.3%)	2 (0.5%)	135 (34.6%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.3%)	44.8	474^th of 946 public elementary schools	49.9%		35.2	571^st of 950 public elementary schools	39.9%	97	45.5	40.0	55.8	25.6	40.0	52.9	42.9	40.9	33.3	41.9	718.0	730.0	38.2	29.9	29.3	48.5	$16,884
Glenwood Springs Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	915 School Street	Glenwood Springs	81602	Garfield County	Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 384-5450	452	41	10.9	63.7%	118 (26.1%)	0 (0.0%)	330 (73.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	21.7	719^th of 946 public elementary schools	24.0%		23.3	691^st of 950 public elementary schools	27.3%	28	27.1	27.1	32.4				28.8	28.8	24.4	28.2				26.9	16.9		$22,394
Sopris Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1150 Mount Sopris Drive	Glenwood Springs	81602	Garfield County	Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 384-5400	392	26	14.9	42.6%	210 (53.6%)	0 (0.0%)	167 (42.6%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	12 (3.1%)	57.2	385^th of 946 public elementary schools	59.3%		50.2	441^st of 950 public elementary schools	53.6%	56	38.5	43.3	50.8				44.4	46.2	56.9	41.4				48.6	42.4		$21,920
Riverview School	Public	PK, KG-8	228 Flying M Road	Glenwood Springs	81601	Garfield County	Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 510-0252	383	28	13.5	71.8%	43 (11.2%)	1 (0.3%)	334 (87.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	19.2	754^th of 946 public elementary schools	20.3%		24.5	671^st of 950 public elementary schools	29.4%	83	721.0	23.1	28.6	23.7	733.0	724.0	26.1	733.0	16.2	21.4	26.3	25.7	724.0	23.7	17.9	719.0	$22,625

Frequently Asked Questions about Cactus Valley Elementary School

How many students attend Cactus Valley Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 462 students attended Cactus Valley Elementary School.

Is Cactus Valley Elementary School a good school?

Cactus Valley Elementary School ranks 651^st of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Cactus Valley Elementary School in?

Garfield School District No. Re-2

What is the racial makeup of Cactus Valley Elementary School?

Students at Cactus Valley Elementary School are 54% White, 44% Hispanic, 1% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Cactus Valley Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Cactus Valley Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Riverside School
High : Coal Ridge High School

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Latest Colorado data All new data »

2025–26 attendance dataNewOct 6, 2026

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

2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 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.