Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 80013

ZIP code 80013 in Aurora, Colorado, is served by three public middle schools — Mrachek Middle School, Horizon Middle School, and Columbia Middle School — all serving grades 6 through 8, collectively enrolling 2,161 students, and split between Aurora Joint District No. 28 (ranked 106th of 115 Colorado districts) and Cherry Creek School District No. 5 (ranked 26th).

Columbia Middle School is the clear standout. Despite being in the lower-ranked Aurora Joint District No. 28, it has the best state ranking of the three (360th of 469, 23rd percentile), the highest ELA proficiency at 24.9%, and the highest math proficiency at 21.3% — including the strongest single grade-level result in the group, 29.4% proficiency in 8th-grade math. Horizon Middle School attends the much stronger Cherry Creek School District No. 5 and has clear advantages: a lower free/reduced-lunch rate (59.4%) and the lowest student-teacher ratio (14.5), yet it trails Columbia Middle School in both ELA (24.3%) and math (15.8%). Mrachek Middle School faces the greatest challenges, with the lowest state percentile (8th), lowest ELA proficiency (16.8%), lowest math proficiency (14.0%), the highest poverty rate (82.7% free/reduced lunch), and the highest chronic absenteeism (33.8%).

Across all three schools, proficiency rates remain far below Colorado state averages of 44.7% in ELA, 37.3% in math, and 35.4% in science, and chronic absenteeism affects roughly one-third of students at every school. The contrast between Columbia Middle School and Horizon Middle School is especially telling: despite Horizon's wealthier district and smaller classes, Columbia posts stronger academics, suggesting that school-level factors matter as much as district reputation. There are also encouraging trends. Mrachek Middle School has improved from the 4th to 8th percentile in state ranking since 2023–24, and its math proficiency nearly doubled from 8.9% to 14.0%. Columbia Middle School has also climbed steadily from the 18th to 23rd percentile. In all three schools, 8th-grade math proficiency runs notably higher than 6th- or 7th-grade math — a pattern parents may wish to explore further.