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Thornton Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

904^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 950 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 5% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Thornton Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 372 students in grades PK-5 in Thornton, Colorado, which is part of the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district. While the district is ranked 52 out of 115 school districts in the state, Thornton Elementary consistently performs significantly below the district and state averages in academic assessments.

In the 2024-2025 school year, only 16.1% of Thornton Elementary students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 42.2% for the district and 44.8% for the state. In Math, the proficiency rate was just 9.6%, compared to 34.2% for the district and 35.9% for the state. Additionally, Thornton Elementary has very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 27.7% to 40.2% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the state average. The school also has an extremely high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 79.54% to 87.63% in recent years.

When comparing Thornton Elementary to nearby schools, it consistently performs worse academically. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the nearby STEM Launch school had significantly higher proficiency rates in both English Language Arts (36.8%) and Math (21.9%) compared to Thornton Elementary. Similarly, schools in the Mapleton School District No. 1, which has a lower overall district ranking, also outperformed Thornton Elementary in academic assessments.

387

Students ?

13.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,844

Per pupil spending ?

88.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

900 Eppinger Boulevard
Thornton, CO 80229-3504

(720) 972-5660

District: Adams 12 Five Star Schools

Students who attend Thornton Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Thornton Middle School
High:	Thornton High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

73.1%

White:

11.6%

Asian:

9.0%

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Compare Thornton Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 4th percentile in 2014 → 5th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (13% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (46% vs 28% Colorado)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school13%

District avg38%

Colorado avg40%

904^th of 950

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

32^nd of 33Elementary Schools in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools

52^nd of 115Adams 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
2025	9.2	904 of 950	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.1	912 of 943	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.7	899 of 933	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.9	854 of 921	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.6	921 of 965	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.1	862 of 917	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	14.5	810 of 929	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	12.0	843 of 914	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	11.6	872 of 938	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	7.9	920 of 962	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	6.7	905 of 954	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	4.1	925 of 935	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	5.8	889 of 935	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	5.6	884 of 925	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	4.4	840 of 872	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	5.6	811 of 849	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	9.7	781 of 852	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	9.7	749 of 829	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	12.5	732 of 823	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	4.3	772 of 808	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	6.4	678 of 694	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.2	737 of 758	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.8	686 of 690	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	5.4	691 of 700	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.6	719 of 764	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.1	632 of 693	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)2nd percentile-3 vs school

Male (2025)1st percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts16%-29 vs state

Math10%-26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Thornton 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 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
Thornton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	900 Eppinger Boulevard	Thornton	80229	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5660	387	28	13.8	88.1%	45 (11.6%)	9 (2.3%)	283 (73.1%)	35 (9.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.4%)	9.2	904^th of 950 public elementary schools	4.8%		8.1	912^th of 943 public elementary schools	3.3%	8	17.4	16.1	15.1				16.1		12.7					9.6			$19,844
Achieve Academy	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-8	9100 Poze Blvd	Thornton	80229	Adams County	Mapleton School District No. 1	No	Yes	No	Yes	(303) 853-1300	370	21	17.6	75.7%	31 (8.4%)	5 (1.4%)	308 (83.2%)	17 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.4%)	18.8	755^th of 950 public elementary schools	20.5%		18.8	754^th of 943 public elementary schools	20.0%	1	20.9	27.8	26.5		28.3		21.4	34.9	25.0	11.4	7.3	11.1	7.5	16.3	19.4		$14,515
Clayton Partnership School	Public, Magnet	K-8	8970 York St	Thornton	80229	Adams County	Mapleton School District No. 1	No	Yes	No	Yes	(303) 853-1460	430	23	18.5	77.7%	33 (7.7%)	5 (1.2%)	375 (87.2%)	9 (2.1%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.4%)	20.8	729^th of 950 public elementary schools	23.3%		15.8	792^nd of 943 public elementary schools	16.0%	63	22.2	23.1	10.0	20.8	36.4	27.5	24.0	23.7	38.5			9.1	17.3	16.2		15.4	$14,856
North Mor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	9580 Damon Drive	Northglenn	80260	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5540	304	19	16.0	79.3%	47 (15.5%)	5 (1.6%)	227 (74.7%)	13 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.9%)	12.3	855^th of 950 public elementary schools	10.0%		12.7	837^th of 943 public elementary schools	11.2%	18	28.3	14.6	25.0				23.0	16.7	7.0	14.6				12.9	14.6		$18,609
McElwain Elementary School	Public	K-5	1020 Dawson Drive	Thornton	80229	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5500	361	25	14.4	90.0%	48 (13.3%)	3 (0.8%)	185 (51.2%)	112 (31.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.6%)								(n/a)			13.8					14.9						8.0			$19,061
Monterey Community School	Public	K-8	2210 McElwain Blvd	Denver	80229	Adams County	Mapleton School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 853-1360	440	23	18.8	78.6%	54 (12.3%)	0 (0.0%)	364 (82.7%)	11 (2.5%)	7 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	13.4	830^th of 950 public elementary schools	12.6%		19.3	749^th of 943 public elementary schools	20.6%	81	13.0	22.5	20.6	9.1	34.6	17.8	19.9	13.3	25.0	26.5				11.2	17.6	6.7	$13,558
North Star Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8740 North Star Drive	Denver	80260	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5560	320	22	14.5	86.3%	31 (9.7%)	15 (4.7%)	265 (82.8%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.9%)	10.2	884^th of 950 public elementary schools	6.9%					(n/a)	23.1	15.4	9.3				15.7	19.0									$20,137
Coronado Hills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8300 Downing Drive	Thornton	80229	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5320	412	28	14.7	81.3%	37 (9.0%)	7 (1.7%)	349 (84.7%)	8 (1.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	9 (2.2%)	13.6	827^th of 950 public elementary schools	12.9%		7.9	914^th of 943 public elementary schools	3.1%	87	14.3	8.0	33.3				19.3	10.3	11.5	19.7				14.0	24.6		$18,735
Explore Pk-8	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-8	10310 York St	Thornton	80229	Adams County	Mapleton School District No. 1	No	Yes	No	Yes	(303) 853-1300	557	28	19.7	62.8%	108 (19.4%)	8 (1.4%)	378 (67.9%)	40 (7.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (3.8%)	23.6	684^th of 950 public elementary schools	28.0%		10.7	868^th of 943 public elementary schools	8.0%	184	40.4	25.5	22.4		17.0		22.4	37.3	25.5	12.5		5.7		15.3	10.2		$13,402
STEM Launch	Public, Magnet	K-8	9450 Pecos Street	Thornton	80260	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(720) 972-5120	677	46	14.7	78.6%	134 (19.8%)	5 (0.7%)	496 (73.3%)	11 (1.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.1%)	26.8	648^th of 950 public elementary schools	31.8%		21.3	726^th of 943 public elementary schools	23.0%	78	29.7	34.3	30.5	24.0	52.3	44.4	36.8	26.6	30.0	30.5	13.1	12.8	24.7	21.9	37.0	33.0	$15,878

Frequently Asked Questions about Thornton Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Thornton Elementary School?

Students at Thornton Elementary School are 73% Hispanic, 12% White, 9% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Thornton Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Thornton Middle School
High : Thornton High School

What district is Thornton Elementary School in?

Adams 12 Five Star Schools

Is Thornton Elementary School a good school?

Thornton Elementary School ranks in the bottom 4.8% of Colorado elementary schools.

How many students attend Thornton Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 387 students attended Thornton Elementary School.

Rate Thornton 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.