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Cherry Drive Elementary School

Q: Is Cherry Drive Elementary School a good school?

Cherry Drive Elementary School ranks 574 th of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

574^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 946 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 39% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Cherry Drive Elementary School is a PK-5 public school in Thornton, Colorado, serving 325 students as part of Adams 12 Five Star Schools, a district ranked in the middle of the state (50th of 115 districts, 3 stars). The school serves a moderately high-poverty population, with 59.7% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch, and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 16.2. Cherry Drive has been on a clear upward trajectory: its statewide ranking improved from the 20th percentile in 2021-2022 to the 39th percentile (574th of 943 Colorado elementary schools) in 2025-2026, its best showing in nearly a decade.

Academically, Cherry Drive is now competitive with — and in some cases ahead of — its closest neighborhood peers. The school posted 40% ELA proficiency on CMAS in 2025-2026, nearly matching the district (42.3%) and state (44.7%) averages, and ahead of nearby schools like Skyview Elementary School (35.6%), Riverdale Elementary School (37.7%), Woodglen Elementary School (28.0%), and Malley Drive Elementary School (18.2%). Math proficiency of 33.6% is close to district (35.5%) and state (37.3%) levels, and Cherry Drive outperforms nearly every non-magnet school within two miles, including Stellar Elementary School (30.2%), Riverdale (24.6%), Glacier Peak Elementary School (26.5%), and Skyview (30.6%). Science, however, is a clear weakness: just 13.6% of 5th graders were proficient in science, compared to 35.6% districtwide and 36.1% statewide.

The school's attendance picture is relatively positive given its demographics, with a 28.1% chronic absenteeism rate that is below the district rate of 32.2% and better than several similar nearby schools, including Leroy Elementary (44.0%), Woodglen (33.0%), and Malley (36.6%). Data also suggests the school succeeds with specific student populations that often face systemic barriers: low-income students ranked in the 53rd percentile statewide in 2025-2026, and Hispanic students ranked in the 60th percentile in 2024-2025 — both stronger than the school's overall ranking. One red flag is a noticeable 4th-to-5th grade slump, with 4th graders essentially matching state ELA averages before dropping off sharply in 5th grade, and grade-level performance in math remains uneven across the school. While science instruction and upper-elementary supports appear to be areas needing attention, Cherry Drive's overall momentum in reading and math makes it a solid neighborhood option that is moving in the right direction.

325

Students ?

16.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,602

Per pupil spending ?

59.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

11500 Cherry Drive
Thornton, CO 80233-2732

(720) 972-5300

District: Adams 12 Five Star Schools

Students who attend Cherry Drive Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Shadow Ridge Middle School
High:	Mountain Range High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

58.8%

White:

30.5%

Asian:

4.6%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare Cherry Drive Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 30th percentile in 2016 → 39th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 9 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (34% vs 41% meeting standards)

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

!Science scores 22 pts below the Colorado average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school34%

District avg39%

Colorado avg41%

574^th of 946

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 39%▲ up 9 pts since 2016

From bottom 30% (2016) to bottom 39% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

16^th of 34Elementary 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	34.9	574 of 946	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	28.6	628 of 950	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	21.1	730 of 943	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.0	719 of 933	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.8	737 of 921	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.0	662 of 710	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	28.8	668 of 965	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.6	659 of 917	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	33.5	593 of 929	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2016	27.2	639 of 914	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	28.0	654 of 938	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2014	26.5	729 of 962	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	32.0	687 of 954	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	23.6	740 of 935	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	27.9	715 of 935	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	22.6	747 of 925	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	28.4	677 of 872	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	39.1	568 of 849	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2007	38.0	579 of 852	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2006	32.4	598 of 829	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	24.9	650 of 823	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	20.6	668 of 808	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	27.9	494 of 695	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	21.5	533 of 694	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.9	522 of 684	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.0	537 of 758	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.9	592 of 690	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	53.9	99 of 247	59.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	35.6	152 of 242	37.2%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	47.9	151 of 322	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	25.6	223 of 265	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	40.9	199 of 332	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.5	231 of 308	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	35.3	431 of 697	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	22.5	522 of 700	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.6	615 of 683	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.4	533 of 764	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	21.0	554 of 693	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2019	14.4	550 of 596	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.4	315 of 337	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2025)60th percentile+26 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)53rd percentile+14 vs school

Male (2026)38th percentile~ school

Female (2026)29th percentile-10 vs school

White (2019)8th percentile-23 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts40%-5 vs state

Math34%-4 vs state

Science14%-22 vs state

4.0

2 ratings

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3★0

2★0

1★0

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Schools Near Cherry Drive 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
Cherry Drive Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	11500 Cherry Drive	Thornton	80233	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5300	325	20	16.2	59.7%	99 (30.5%)	9 (2.8%)	191 (58.8%)	15 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.4%)	34.9	574^th of 946 public elementary schools	39.3%		28.6	628^th of 950 public elementary schools	33.9%	54	40.4	47.6	32.6				40.0	29.8	38.1	33.3				33.6	13.6		$19,602
Riverdale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	10724 Elm Drive	Thornton	80233	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5580	372	23	16.1	66.9%	129 (34.7%)	11 (3.0%)	207 (55.6%)	8 (2.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.3%)	28.7	637^th of 946 public elementary schools	32.7%		20.1	740^th of 950 public elementary schools	22.1%	103	37.3	26.5	46.7				37.7	22.0	20.6	31.1				24.6	22.2		$18,716
Woodglen Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	11717 Madison Street	Thornton	80233	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5700	383	23	17.0	65.8%	123 (32.1%)	11 (2.9%)	208 (54.3%)	25 (6.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.7%)	16.4	798^th of 946 public elementary schools	15.6%		23.3	689^th of 950 public elementary schools	27.5%	109	23.5	33.3	27.5				28.0	13.7	16.7	23.5				18.0	15.7		$18,496
Glacier Peak Elementary School	Public	K-5	12060 Jasmine Street	Brighton	80605	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5940	412	25	16.8	47.6%	167 (40.5%)	6 (1.5%)	189 (45.9%)	29 (7.0%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.4%)	31.6	604^th of 946 public elementary schools	36.2%		27.8	638^th of 950 public elementary schools	32.8%	34	39.1	46.4	41.3				42.3	31.3	31.9	15.4				26.5	14.1		$17,104
Skyview Elementary School	Public	K-5	5021 East 123rd Avenue	Thornton	80241	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5620	326	25	13.2	57.7%	119 (36.5%)	14 (4.3%)	161 (49.4%)	17 (5.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.3%)	33.1	588^th of 946 public elementary schools	37.8%		22.1	707^th of 950 public elementary schools	25.6%	119	40.4	25.4	42.9				35.6	34.6	27.1	30.6				30.6	30.6		$20,673
Stellar Elementary School	Public	K-5	3901 East 124th Avenue	Thornton	80241	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-2340	418	25	16.7	67.9%	133 (31.8%)	8 (1.9%)	234 (56.0%)	22 (5.3%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.3%)	35.7	566^th of 946 public elementary schools	40.2%		46.8	472^nd of 950 public elementary schools	50.3%	94	31.4	43.3	48.5				41.0	32.9	29.9	27.7				30.2	28.8		$17,682
Hulstrom K-8	Public	K-8	11551 Wyco Drive	Northglenn	80233	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	No	(720) 972-5400	663	37	17.9	11.5%	352 (53.1%)	13 (2.0%)	122 (18.4%)	84 (12.7%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	85 (12.8%)	98.8	4^th of 946 public elementary schools	99.6%		98.7	6^th of 950 public elementary schools	99.4%	2	98.7	93.4	88.9	86.7	93.7	93.1	92.5	97.4	90.8	77.8	84.0	77.2	84.7	85.4	80.6	88.9	$16,154
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%)	27.9	648^th of 946 public elementary schools	31.5%		23.6	684^th of 950 public elementary schools	28.0%	36	25.0	35.2	51.1	24.0	28.0	25.5	31.1	26.8	38.9	27.7	13.7	5.9	16.4	21.7	17.0	13.0	$15,618
STEM Lab	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-8	11700 Irma Drive	Northglenn	80233	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(720) 972-4000	740	41	18.2	30.9%	424 (57.3%)	12 (1.6%)	202 (27.3%)	41 (5.5%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (7.8%)	77.5	201^st of 946 public elementary schools	78.8%		70.4	266^th of 950 public elementary schools	72.0%	65	62.0	66.2	59.7	61.3	61.4	77.2	64.2	50.7	61.1	52.1	40.8	42.9	63.2	51.3	56.9	62.5	$16,391
Malley Drive Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1300 East Malley Drive	Northglenn	80233	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5480	435	24	18.1	77.5%	109 (25.1%)	7 (1.6%)	253 (58.2%)	47 (10.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.9%)	8.8	902^nd of 946 public elementary schools	4.7%		9.2	903^rd of 950 public elementary schools	4.9%	1	6.1	22.2	24.5				18.2	6.1	12.7	16.7				12.0	9.3		$17,607

Frequently Asked Questions about Cherry Drive Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Cherry Drive Elementary School?

Students at Cherry Drive Elementary School are 59% Hispanic, 30% White, 5% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 3% African American.

Is Cherry Drive Elementary School a good school?

Cherry Drive Elementary School ranks 574^th of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Cherry Drive Elementary School in?

Adams 12 Five Star Schools

How many students attend Cherry Drive Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 325 students attended Cherry Drive Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Cherry Drive Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Cherry Drive Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Shadow Ridge Middle School
High : Mountain Range High School

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Latest Colorado data All new data »

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

2024–25 attendance dataAug 27, 2025

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.