Summary:
Families in ZIP code 80018 have four public school options, all part of Aurora Joint District No. 28. The area includes three elementary/P-8 schools and one high school, serving about 4,754 students. While the district ranks in the bottom 8% of Colorado districts, these schools serve similar student populations with free/reduced lunch rates clustered between 55% and 62%, yet deliver very different results.
Murphy Creek K-8 School is the clear standout, ranked 318th out of 943 Colorado elementary schools (66th percentile, 3 stars). It is the only school in the ZIP code to exceed state averages, with 54.3% ELA and 48.7% math proficiency, and 5th grade science at 58.3% — well above the state's 36.1%. It also has the lowest student-teacher ratio at 16.9. Harmony Ridge P-8 sits in the middle, with ELA at 43.3% nearly matching the state, but math at 29.0% below the state's 37.3%. Its 5th grade science plummeted from 30.2% to 9.4% in one year, worth monitoring. Vista Peak P-8 Exploratory is the weakest elementary option, but shows strong late-grade growth: 3rd grade ELA is just 17.7%, yet 8th grade ELA reaches 46.7%, above the state's 42.2%.
Vista Peak 9-12 Preparatory is the area's only high school. It graduates 84.7% of students, nearly matching the state's 85.6%, and has a low 1.5% dropout rate. However, chronic absenteeism is a serious concern at 42.1%, and all SAT, PSAT, and science scores trail state averages. The key takeaway for parents: district ratings don't tell the full story. Two schools with nearly identical demographics can differ by 22 percentage points in math, proving that school-level leadership and practices matter enormously in this ZIP code.
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