Summary:
Zip code 80236 in the Denver, Colorado area is home to two middle schools serving grades 3 through 8: DSST: College View Middle School, part of School District No. 1, and Fort Logan Northgate, part of Sheridan School District No. 2. Both schools serve predominantly low-income populations, with roughly 86% of students at each school eligible for free/reduced lunch.
DSST: College View Middle School is the clear academic leader in this area, posting a 30.3% English Language Arts proficiency rate and a 16.8% math proficiency rate in 2024-2025, compared to Fort Logan Northgate's 10.4% ELA and 4.9% math rates. More recent 2025-2026 data shows DSST at 26.8% ELA and 20.2% math proficiency, while Fort Logan Northgate's 8th grade ELA proficiency sits at 13.2%. DSST ranks in the 26th percentile statewide, whereas Fort Logan Northgate's last reported ranking placed it in the 5th percentile. However, both schools remain well below Colorado state averages, with DSST trailing by roughly 17-18 percentage points and Fort Logan by 31-34 percentage points.
Notably, DSST has a much higher chronic absenteeism rate at 41.6%, well above the state average of 28.4%, while Fort Logan Northgate's rate is a healthier 24.6%. DSST also benefits from a more favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.4, compared to Fort Logan's 16.9. DSST has shown modest improvement in its state ranking over the past three years, climbing from the 22nd to the 26th percentile. Fort Logan Northgate has not reported a state ranking since 2023-2024, when it finished 463rd out of 485 schools. Since Fort Logan serves a wider grade span (3-8) than DSST (6-8), direct comparisons are imperfect, but the academic gap between these two schools is substantial.
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