Summary:
Zip code 80421, serving the Bailey, Colorado area, is home to one elementary school—Deer Creek Elementary School—which educates students in grades PK through 5 within the Platte Canyon School District No. 1.
Deer Creek Elementary School is a solid, improving school that consistently outperforms the Colorado state average across all core subjects. On the most recent CMAS assessments, the school posted a 57.5% proficiency rate in English Language Arts, a 44.2% rate in Math, and a 51.9% rate in Science—beating state averages by 12.8, 6.9, and 15.8 percentage points, respectively. While Deer Creek’s ELA proficiency sits 3.4 points below the district average, its math proficiency is essentially tied with the district. The school’s strongest relative performance is in science, where more than half of 5th graders scored proficient. Grade-level analysis shows both ELA and math peak in 4th grade, followed by a notable drop in 5th grade—particularly in math, where proficiency falls to 36.8%, below the state average of 39.3%. This suggests a potential 5th-grade math transition challenge that may warrant targeted support.
Deer Creek has demonstrated consistent year-over-year growth, improving ELA proficiency by 5.1 points and math by 2.7 points in the most recent year, while its statewide ranking climbed from the 60th to the 68th percentile over three years. The school also excels in attendance, with a chronic absenteeism rate of just 16.1%—far better than the district’s 19.8% and the state’s 28.4%. With a moderate free/reduced lunch rate of 40.05%, Deer Creek serves a somewhat diverse economic population, yet still achieves above-state results across the board. Overall, this is an upward-trending school with clear strengths in science, 4th-grade performance, and student attendance, making it a strong option for families in the 80421 area.
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