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STEM Launch

Q: Is STEM Launch a good school?

STEM Launch ranks 648 th of 950 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public, Magnet Grades K-8

648^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 950 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 32% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

STEM Launch is a public magnet elementary and middle school located in Thornton, Colorado, serving grades K-8 with a total enrollment of 748 students. The school is part of the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district, which is ranked 52 out of 115 school districts in Colorado and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

STEM Launch has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Colorado elementary schools, with performance on CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) tests significantly below the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, STEM Launch's proficiency rates were 36.8% in English Language Arts (vs. 42.2% district, 44.8% state) and 21.9% in Math (vs. 34.2% district, 35.9% state). The school also has high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 21.7% to 31.1% over the past three school years, and relatively high dropout rates, ranging from 1.9% to 2.3% over the past four school years.

Interestingly, STEM Launch's academic performance is consistently lower than the nearby Westview Elementary, Thornton Elementary, and Federal Heights Elementary schools within the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district, which also serve high percentages of economically disadvantaged students and have similar chronic absenteeism rates. Addressing the underlying factors, such as socioeconomic challenges and chronic absenteeism, may be crucial in improving the academic outcomes at STEM Launch.

677

Students ?

14.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,878

Per pupil spending ?

78.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

9450 Pecos Street
Thornton, CO 80260-5923

(720) 972-5120

District: Adams 12 Five Star Schools

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

73.3%

White:

19.8%

Two or more races:

4.1%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare STEM Launch to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 7th percentile in 2021 → 32nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 32nd (2025) from a 7th-percentile low (2021)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (30% vs 40% meeting standards)

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

!Math scores 14 pts below the Colorado average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg38%

Colorado avg40%

Elementary school

648^th of 950

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 32%▼ down 8 pts since 2015

From bottom 40% (2015) to bottom 32% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

292^nd of 469

Colorado public middle schools ?

Bottom 38%▲ up 10 pts since 2015

From bottom 28% (2015) to bottom 38% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

18^th 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	26.8	648 of 950	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	21.3	726 of 943	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.3	639 of 933	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.1	721 of 921	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.9	663 of 710	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.9	740 of 965	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.5	715 of 917	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	25.5	679 of 929	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	32.4	589 of 914	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2015	36.0	566 of 938	39.7%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	14.8	584 of 694	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.2	625 of 684	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.2	542 of 642	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.8	506 of 595	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.7	609 of 758	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.2	630 of 690	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	45.6	117 of 247	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	32.6	165 of 242	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.0	136 of 197	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	26.0	114 of 153	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.8	185 of 270	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.5	143 of 172	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	30.2	253 of 337	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	36.9	235 of 365	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.3	207 of 265	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.6	177 of 203	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.6	230 of 332	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	14.7	293 of 308	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	27.5	484 of 700	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.7	510 of 683	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.2	467 of 649	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.9	518 of 594	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.1	619 of 764	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.7	575 of 693	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2023	55.7	233 of 525	55.6%	★★★☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	33.1	292 of 469	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.8	316 of 485	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.8	278 of 480	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.6	324 of 448	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.1	371 of 458	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.3	334 of 418	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	20.3	336 of 424	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	22.5	322 of 400	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	28.2	314 of 436	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	21.3	264 of 347	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.6	244 of 350	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.2	230 of 363	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.2	260 of 326	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.1	308 of 352	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	9.2	294 of 315	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	39.9	98 of 132	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	55.9	74 of 218	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	38.7	109 of 199	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.8	95 of 198	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	24.9	129 of 169	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.2	188 of 220	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.5	134 of 165	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	41.4	130 of 241	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.7	149 of 244	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.3	112 of 241	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	26.0	152 of 197	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.0	199 of 240	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	37.9	195 of 352	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.8	248 of 357	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	42.3	181 of 356	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	20.7	263 of 343	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.5	232 of 317	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2019	48.1	134 of 283	52.7%	★★★☆☆

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)

Elementary school

White (2023)56th percentile+24 vs school

Hispanic (2025)53rd percentile+21 vs school

Male (2025)31st percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)25th percentile-7 vs school

Female (2025)16th percentile-16 vs school

Middle school

Hispanic (2025)66th percentile+28 vs school

White (2019)53rd percentile+34 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)46th percentile+8 vs school

Male (2025)45th percentile+7 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)26th percentile-12 vs school

Female (2025)24th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts37%-8 vs state

Science35%-3 vs state

Math22%-14 vs state

3.0

4 ratings · 3 written reviews

5★2

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★2

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, October 25, 2023

This school is HORRIBLE. They had a child almost abducted outside the school last year and then this yr had a 7 year old outside for an hr. They do not grade fair. They lower the students grades and then raise them at the end of the year for addition funding. They are completely about the union. school has major known bullying issues as well. Don't make the mistake I did changing my GT student to this school. Close Quote

by a parent
Friday, February 5, 2021

I like the school because they help our kids all the ways, in person,or online learneng, my kids love it 👍 Close Quote

by a parent
Monday, July 16, 2018

Although the teachers are good (some great), the administration is delusional. There is a horrible bullying problem and nothing is done about it. Issues must be escalated to the district-level. We know numerous parents who have left the school and many others who are desperately seeking to do so. We did not feel at all safe with our kids at this school and although some teachers are very dedicated, the overall environment is toxic and the horrible test scores mean that many teachers have to "teach down." When we transferred to a better school, they were far ahead of where this school was. Close Quote

Schools Near STEM Launch

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
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
Federal Heights Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2500 W 96th Avenue	Denver	80260	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5360	430	30	14.3	93.5%	27 (6.3%)	3 (0.7%)	393 (91.4%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	12.4	853^rd of 950 public elementary schools	10.2%		8.1	911^th of 943 public elementary schools	3.4%	58	10.1	27.7	35.3				22.0	5.1	19.1	13.7				11.3	12.0		$18,273
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
Hillcrest Elementary School	Public	K-5	10335 Croke Drive	Northglenn	80260	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5380	338	25	13.5	84.3%	40 (11.8%)	8 (2.4%)	262 (77.5%)	11 (3.3%)	3 (0.9%)	2 (0.6%)	12 (3.6%)	8.1	918^th of 950 public elementary schools	3.4%		12.7	839^th of 943 public elementary schools	11.0%	79	15.4	18.8	9.6				14.9	12.1	7.7	11.3				10.3	13.5		$18,001
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
Sunset Ridge Pk-8	Public	PK, KG-8	9451 Hooker Street	Westminster	80031	Adams County	Westminster Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 426-8907	449	21	21.3	87.8%	49 (10.9%)	1 (0.2%)	380 (84.6%)	5 (1.1%)	2 (0.4%)	4 (0.9%)	8 (1.8%)	12.9	840^th of 950 public elementary schools	11.6%		15	805^th of 943 public elementary schools	14.6%	35	22.4	14.8	27.1	23.2	28.8	22.2	23.2	19.0	11.1	14.6	12.7	28.8	19.4	17.7	16.7	11.1	$19,635
Rocky Mountain Elementary School	Public	K-5	3350 West 99th Avenue	Westminster	80031	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5600	318	22	14.4	90.9%	45 (14.2%)	5 (1.6%)	257 (80.8%)	8 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	10.7	874^th of 950 public elementary schools	8.0%		9.5	894^th of 943 public elementary schools	5.2%	20	18.2	14.6	24.2				19.7			12.9				11.3	14.8		$21,534
Westview Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1300 Roseanna Drive	Northglenn	80234	Adams County	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 972-5680	402	27	14.7	71.6%	117 (29.1%)	5 (1.2%)	241 (60.0%)	16 (4.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (5.5%)	18.3	762^nd of 950 public elementary schools	19.8%		18.6	760^th of 943 public elementary schools	19.4%	2	24.1	22.6	24.5				23.7	23.0	25.0	22.4				23.6	18.4		$18,235
Crown Pointe Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	2900 West 86th Avenue	Westminster	80031	Adams County	State Charter School Institute	Yes	No	No	Yes	(303) 428-1882	461	27	17.3	61.6%	105 (22.8%)	4 (0.9%)	313 (67.9%)	26 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.8%)	41.1	521^st of 950 public elementary schools	45.2%		38.2	539^th of 943 public elementary schools	42.8%	18	41.2	35.3	41.2	47.2	56.3	53.2	45.5	43.1	31.4	31.4	20.8	31.3	12.8	28.6	36.0	31.9	$12,466
Mesa Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	9100 Lowell Boulevard	Westminster	80031	Adams County	Westminster Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 428-2891	317	21	14.9	89.9%	59 (18.6%)	8 (2.5%)	232 (73.2%)	8 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	8 (2.5%)	13.6	825^th of 950 public elementary schools	13.2%		16	790^th of 943 public elementary schools	16.2%	35	14.0	21.4	36.4				23.1	12.3	14.3	20.5				15.4	13.6		$19,629

Frequently Asked Questions about STEM Launch

How many students attend STEM Launch?

In the 2024-25 school year, 677 students attended STEM Launch.

What is the racial makeup of STEM Launch?

Students at STEM Launch are 73% Hispanic, 20% White, 4% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Is STEM Launch a good school?

STEM Launch ranks 648^th of 950 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is STEM Launch in?

Adams 12 Five Star Schools

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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.