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Thornton Middle School

Q: Is Thornton Middle School a good school?

Thornton Middle School ranks in the bottom 0.4% of Colorado middle schools.

Q: How many students attend Thornton Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 721 students attended Thornton Middle School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Thornton Middle School?

Students at Thornton Middle School are 77% Hispanic, 11% White, 7% Asian, 3% African American, 1% Two or more races.

Q: What high school do graduates of Thornton Middle School attend?

Students who attend Thornton Middle School usually go on to attend Thornton High School

Public Grades 6-8

474^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 476 Colorado Middle Schools

Better than 0% of Colorado middle schools

Summary

Thornton Middle School, serving 721 students in grades 6–8 in Thornton, Colorado, is part of Adams 12 Five Star Schools, a district that ranks solidly in the middle of Colorado school districts. However, Thornton Middle itself is a severe outlier within that district. In the 2025–2026 school year, the school ranked 467th out of 469 Colorado middle schools, placing it in the 0th percentile with a 0-star rating. This is not a recent dip; the school has ranked in the lowest 10% of Colorado middle schools for a decade, and its percentile ranking has fallen from 9% in 2016–2017 to 0% today.

Academic proficiency at Thornton Middle School is in single digits across every tested subject. On the 2025–2026 CMAS assessments, just 7.5% of students were proficient in English Language Arts, 4.7% in math, and 5.0% in 8th grade science. By comparison, Adams 12 Five Star Schools posted proficiency rates of 42.3% in ELA and 35.5% in math. Nearby schools tell a similar story: Northglenn Middle School reached 14.2% ELA proficiency, Shaw Heights Middle School reached 21.4%, and Century Middle School reached 31.7% — more than four times Thornton's rate. Even schools with higher poverty levels, such as Adams City Middle School at 90.9% free/reduced-price lunch, outpaced Thornton in ELA. Thornton is the lowest-performing of the eleven nearby middle schools in both ELA and math.

Chronic absenteeism is also the highest in the immediate area. In 2024–2025, 62.3% of Thornton Middle students were chronically absent — nearly double the district rate of 32.2% and more than double the state rate of 28.4%. This means nearly two-thirds of students miss enough school to jeopardize their learning. Subgroup data reinforces the scope of the problem: low-income students ranked last in the state for three consecutive years, and Hispanic and male students have ranked at or near the bottom of all Colorado middle schools. The school is not effectively serving any major student population relative to peers statewide. While the school has a reasonable student-teacher ratio of 16.3 and a low dropout rate, the combination of extreme chronic absenteeism and single-digit proficiency across all subjects paints a clear picture of a school in need of significant, targeted intervention.

721

Students ?

16.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,637

Per pupil spending ?

84.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

9451 Hoffman Way
Thornton, CO 80229-3535

(720) 972-5160

District: Adams 12 Five Star Schools

Students who attend Thornton Middle School usually attend:

High:

Thornton High School

Feeder schools for Thornton Middle School:

Elementary:	Coronado Hills Elementary School
	McElwain Elementary School
	North Star Elementary School
	Rocky Mountain Elementary School
	More...
	Thornton Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

77.3%

White:

10.7%

Asian:

7.2%

See top rated Colorado middle schools

Compare Thornton Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 7th percentile in 2016 → <1st in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (6% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (<1st percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (57% vs 28% Colorado)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school6%

District avg38%

Colorado avg41%

474^th of 476

Colorado public middle schools ?

Bottom 1%▼ down 7 pts since 2016

From bottom 7% (2016) to bottom 1% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 7Middle Schools in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools

49^th of 114Adams 12 Five Star Schools 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	5.4	474 of 476	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	5.1	467 of 469	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.2	481 of 485	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.8	466 of 480	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.7	434 of 448	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.5	360 of 369	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.1	438 of 458	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.0	407 of 418	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	13.2	384 of 424	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	12.9	371 of 400	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	12.9	409 of 436	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	6.4	443 of 461	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	2.9	445 of 454	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	4.1	413 of 425	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	5.4	407 of 422	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	5.6	394 of 409	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	5.8	359 of 377	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	5.0	349 of 362	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	5.4	341 of 360	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	5.3	327 of 346	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	7.2	321 of 340	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	8.6	310 of 336	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	4.6	345 of 347	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	4.8	348 of 350	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.3	341 of 363	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.0	320 of 326	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	7.1	254 of 254	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.4	344 of 352	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.9	309 of 315	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	6.8	206 of 208	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	8.0	217 of 218	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.4	199 of 199	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.4	179 of 198	9.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	10.7	165 of 169	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	15.3	80 of 83	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.6	212 of 220	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.9	161 of 165	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	6.9	231 of 231	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.4	241 of 241	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.0	244 of 244	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.6	212 of 241	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.2	192 of 197	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.8	114 of 114	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.8	235 of 240	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.4	218 of 222	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	5.0	370 of 372	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	4.5	352 of 352	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.0	357 of 357	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.3	354 of 356	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.9	324 of 328	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.6	249 of 249	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.9	333 of 343	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.4	314 of 317	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2018	1.8	199 of 199	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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 (2026)1st percentile~ school

Female (2025)1st percentile~ school

Male (2026)1st percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)<1st percentile~ school

White (2018)<1st percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts8%-37 vs state

Science5%-30 vs state

Math5%-33 vs state

1.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★0

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What people are saying

by a student
Wednesday, June 24, 2020

I’m not going to get into the specifics, but this school was the worst place I’ve ever been and made me decide that I never want to go to public school ever again, lest it be even slightly comparable to this place. Close Quote

by a parent
Thursday, May 10, 2018

The school secretary is very rude! My son is bullied at school often and is told he can talk to "Myers" but anytime he goes into the office because he is scared or he needs someone to talk to he is sent away in a rude manner. I am very proud to say none of my kids or other family members will NOT be attending this school next year or any of the following years. Close Quote

Schools Near Thornton Middle 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 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 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
Thornton Middle School	Public	6-8	9451 Hoffman Way	Thornton	80229	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5160	721	44	16.3	84.2%	77 (10.7%)	23 (3.2%)	557 (77.3%)	52 (7.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.2%)	5.4	474^th of 476 public middle schools	0.4%		5.1	467^th of 469 public middle schools	0.4%	7			8.2	7.7	6.6	7.5			3.1	3.6	7.1	4.7		5.0	$18,637
Northglenn Middle School	Public	6-8	1123 Muriel Drive	Northglenn	80233	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5080	672	43	15.6	85.3%	128 (19.0%)	7 (1.0%)	469 (69.8%)	45 (6.7%)	6 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	15 (2.2%)	8.1	461^st of 476 public middle schools	3.2%		8.4	451^st of 469 public middle schools	3.8%	10			11.9	19.2	10.7	14.2			706.0	715.0	8.8	6.0		8.8	$17,438
Global Intermediate Academy	Public	4-8	7480 Conifer Road	Denver	80221	Adams County	Mapleton School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 853-1930	346	18	19.2	80.3%	17 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	324 (93.6%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	16.3	406^th of 476 public middle schools	14.7%		11.2	434^th of 469 public middle schools	7.5%	28	18.8	24.5	23.6	31.5	16.4	23.2	20.8	14.3	20.0	11.0	15.1	15.8	8.2	12.5	$15,949
Shaw Heights Middle School	Public	6-8	8780 Circle Drive	Westminster	80030	Adams County	Westminster Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(303) 428-9533	321	18	17.7	86.6%	47 (14.6%)	10 (3.1%)	240 (74.8%)	14 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	7 (2.2%)	11.9	441^st of 476 public middle schools	7.4%		10.2	441^st of 469 public middle schools	6.0%				19.5	20.8	23.8	21.4			7.8	7.6	6.8	7.4		14.3	$21,463
Summit Heights Junior High School	Public	7	4451 E 72nd Ave	Commerce City	80022	Adams County	School District N. 14	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(303) 853-3333	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)				11.8		11.8				5.0		5.0
Adams City Middle School	Public	8	4451 East 72nd Avenue	Commerce City	80022	Adams County	School District N. 14	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 289-5881	296	25	11.9	90.9%	29 (9.8%)	6 (2.0%)	259 (87.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	5.9	470^th of 476 public middle schools	1.3%		6.1	464^th of 469 public middle schools	1.1%	6					8.7	8.7					5.5	5.5		5.5	$22,572
Silver Hills Middle School	Public	6-8	12400 Huron Street	Northglenn	80234	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5000	965	54	17.9	68.8%	224 (23.2%)	20 (2.1%)	636 (65.9%)	42 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	42 (4.4%)	22.9	345^th of 476 public middle schools	27.5%		20.1	365^th of 469 public middle schools	22.2%	20			27.9	34.1	22.6	28.3			12.0	20.2	23.5	18.9		21.8	$15,977
Colorado Preparatory Academy Middle School	Public, Virtual	6-8	8601 Turnpike Dr. Suite 100	Westminster	80031	Adams County	Education Reenvisioned BOCES	No	No	Yes	No	(720) 381-2047	681	33	20.6		293 (43.0%)	65 (9.5%)	243 (35.7%)	7 (1.0%)	6 (0.9%)	6 (0.9%)	61 (9.0%)	36.2	273^rd of 476 public middle schools	42.6%		22.3	342^nd of 469 public middle schools	27.1%	69			34.2	40.9	41.5	39.3			28.9	18.2	24.5	23.7		30.0	$10,685
Century Middle School	Public	6-8	13000 Lafayette Street	Thornton	80241	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5240	717	39	18.5	49.5%	309 (43.1%)	10 (1.4%)	307 (42.8%)	43 (6.0%)	6 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (5.7%)	28.1	316^th of 476 public middle schools	33.6%		34.5	279^th of 469 public middle schools	40.5%	37			32.7	41.7	21.0	31.7			25.2	25.0	17.6	22.7		19.8	$16,969
Shadow Ridge Middle School	Public	6-8	12551 Holly Street	Thornton	80602	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5040	632	39	16.3	57.4%	218 (34.5%)	11 (1.7%)	353 (55.9%)	21 (3.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.4%)	11.5	443^rd of 476 public middle schools	6.9%		12.9	424^th of 469 public middle schools	9.6%	19			9.9	20.2	20.2	17.0			6.7	10.4	15.5	10.9		14.8	$16,872

Frequently Asked Questions about Thornton Middle School

What high school do graduates of Thornton Middle School attend?

Students who attend Thornton Middle School usually go on to attend Thornton High School

How many students attend Thornton Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 721 students attended Thornton Middle School.

What district is Thornton Middle School in?

Adams 12 Five Star Schools

What is the racial makeup of Thornton Middle School?

Students at Thornton Middle School are 77% Hispanic, 11% White, 7% Asian, 3% African American, 1% Two or more races.

Is Thornton Middle School a good school?

Thornton Middle School ranks in the bottom 0.4% of Colorado middle schools.

Rate Thornton Middle 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.