Best Public Schools in Zip Code 80124

Zip code 80124, covering Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, and Littleton, Colorado, is home to eight schools serving students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, including four elementary schools, one middle school, two high schools, and one alternative charter school. Six of these schools belong to Douglas County School District No. Re 1, which ranks an impressive 6th out of 115 Colorado districts, while Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County operates under the State Charter School Institute. The area is academically strong overall, with several schools ranking in the 93rd percentile or higher statewide.

At the top of the list, Rock Canyon High School ranks 13th out of 338 Colorado high schools with a 97.9% graduation rate, while Lone Tree Elementary leads the elementary schools with a 96th-percentile ranking and just 7.9% chronic absenteeism. Rocky Heights Middle School also excels, ranking 33rd out of 469 middle schools, and Wildcat Mountain Elementary ranks 63rd out of 943 elementary schools, improving sharply from 108th the prior year. By contrast, Acres Green Elementary ranks 380th with ELA proficiency at just 39.7%, and Eagle Academy, a small alternative high school, has a 42.2% graduation rate, a 10.6% dropout rate, and 40.5% chronic absenteeism. Eagle Ridge Elementary sits in the middle with a 75th-percentile ranking but struggles with 22.7% chronic absenteeism.

Notable disparities exist even within the same district. Test scores and absenteeism at the elementary level track closely with socioeconomic indicators — Acres Green has the highest free/reduced lunch rate at 36.66%, while Lone Tree has the lowest at 6.89%. Ascent Classical Academy presents mixed results: its math proficiency exceeds state averages, but ELA is slightly below; its older students, however, post outstanding SAT reading/writing scores of 90%. Interestingly, student-teacher ratios do not predict success — Acres Green has the lowest ratio among elementary schools but the weakest performance, while Rock Canyon's higher ratio accompanies excellent outcomes. For families, the takeaway is clear: 80124 offers an elite education pipeline through its top-ranked schools, but school choice matters significantly at the lower-performing end.