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Highland Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

737^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 950 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 22% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Highland Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 418 students in grades PK-5 in Rifle, Colorado. It is part of the Garfield School District No. Re-2, which is ranked 91 out of 115 school districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Highland Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Colorado elementary schools, maintaining a 1-star rating for most of the past decade. The school struggles across multiple student subgroups, ranking in the bottom half of the state for female, male, Hispanic, and white student performance. Its proficiency rates on CMAS standardized tests are significantly below state averages, with just 13.1% in science, 29.2% in ELA, and 21.6% in math, compared to state averages of 39%, 44.8%, and 35.9% respectively. Highland Elementary also has very high chronic absenteeism rates, reaching 27.7% in 2023-2024, well above the state average.

Interestingly, Highland Elementary performs significantly worse than other elementary schools in the Garfield School District, such as Kathryn Senor, Elk Creek, Cactus Valley, Graham Mesa, and Wamsley Elementary, which generally have higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism, and better overall performance. Despite being a low-performing school, Highland Elementary has not shown meaningful improvement over the past decade.

451

Students ?

16.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,351

Per pupil spending ?

57.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1500 East 7th Street
Rifle, CO 81650-2169

(970) 665-6800

District: Garfield School District No. Re-2

Students who attend Highland Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Rifle Middle School
High:	Rifle High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

69.4%

White:

27.3%

Two or more races:

2.2%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare Highland Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 45th percentile in 2015 → 22nd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (24% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 23 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school24%

District avg27%

Colorado avg40%

737^th of 950

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 22%▼ down 22 pts since 2015

From bottom 45% (2015) to bottom 22% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

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

91^st of 115Garfield 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
2025	20.3	737 of 950	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.3	766 of 943	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.4	667 of 933	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.0	752 of 921	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.5	605 of 710	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.9	587 of 965	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	43.6	483 of 917	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2017	27.6	651 of 929	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2016	31.7	592 of 914	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2015	40.2	517 of 938	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2014	28.7	711 of 962	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	24.2	756 of 954	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	26.9	717 of 935	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	30.4	695 of 935	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	27.3	705 of 925	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	15.1	755 of 872	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	15.3	735 of 849	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	16.1	728 of 852	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	18.3	698 of 829	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	32.5	598 of 823	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	28.4	609 of 808	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	19.2	554 of 694	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.5	540 of 684	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.3	561 of 642	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.1	516 of 758	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	28.1	499 of 690	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	28.5	181 of 247	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.2	180 of 242	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	56.2	65 of 172	62.2%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	23.9	279 of 337	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.6	337 of 365	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	32.6	191 of 265	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	32.0	140 of 203	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.7	251 of 332	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	49.1	156 of 308	49.4%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	15.4	595 of 700	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.9	537 of 683	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.1	514 of 649	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.4	504 of 594	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.3	504 of 764	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	44.0	349 of 693	49.6%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2024	25.7	432 of 539	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.6	432 of 525	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.4	428 of 454	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	30.6	427 of 596	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2025)27th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)20th percentile~ school

White (2024)20th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)17th percentile-5 vs school

Male (2025)15th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts29%-16 vs state

Math22%-14 vs state

Science13%-26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Highland Elementary 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 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	Total
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%)	20.3	737^th of 950 public elementary schools	22.4%		18.3	766^th of 943 public elementary schools	18.8%	29	24.6	20.3	44.1	29.2	21.4	14.1	30.0	21.6	13.1	$15,351
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%)	19.4	749^th of 950 public elementary schools	21.2%		24.3	687^th of 943 public elementary schools	27.1%	62	24.2	21.2	30.6	24.9	30.2	13.6	22.0	21.8	26.0	$14,262
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%)	20.9	726^th of 950 public elementary schools	23.6%		18.2	767^th of 943 public elementary schools	18.7%	41	26.4	18.0	45.2	30.1	9.3	15.9	28.6	18.3	20.6	$13,653
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%)	34.9	573^rd of 950 public elementary schools	39.7%		32.9	579^th of 943 public elementary schools	38.6%	6	23.8	32.3	47.1	33.8	38.8	27.7	26.5	31.5	38.2	$13,414
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%)	21.6	715^th of 950 public elementary schools	24.7%		18.8	756^th of 943 public elementary schools	19.8%	41	33.3	21.4	25.7	27.5	25.0	23.3	22.2	23.6	25.0	$18,878
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%)	41.4	519^th of 950 public elementary schools	45.4%		40.7	517^th of 943 public elementary schools	45.2%	2	26.7	52.3	32.3	37.5	22.7	43.2	48.4	37.0	30.3	$17,074
Grand Valley Center for Family Learning	Public	PK, KG-1	100 East Second Street	Parachute	81635	Garfield County	Grand Valley School District No. 16	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 285-5702	265	16	16.5	66.0%	114 (43.0%)	2 (0.8%)	145 (54.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)								(n/a)										$15,365
Bea Underwood Elementary School	Public	2-5	0741 Tamarisk Trail	Parachute	81635	Garfield County	Grand Valley School District No. 16	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 285-5703	390	27	14.6	69.0%	196 (50.3%)	3 (0.8%)	180 (46.2%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.8%)	6.3	937^th of 950 public elementary schools	1.4%		7.1	920^th of 943 public elementary schools	2.4%	17	12.8	12.6	8.0	11.0	10.6			7.1	12.2	$15,129

Frequently Asked Questions about Highland Elementary School

Is Highland Elementary School a good school?

Highland Elementary School ranks in the bottom 22.4% of Colorado elementary schools.

What district is Highland Elementary School in?

Garfield School District No. Re-2

What is the racial makeup of Highland Elementary School?

Students at Highland Elementary School are 69% Hispanic, 27% White, 2% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of Highland Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Highland Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Rifle Middle School
High : Rifle High School

How many students attend Highland Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 451 students attended Highland Elementary 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.