Summary:
There is one middle school in zip code 80610: Highland Middle School in Ault, Colorado, serving grades 6 through 8 with 234 students and part of the Weld County School District No. Re-9.
Highland Middle School has a mixed academic profile. Its state ranking dropped from the 48th percentile in 2022-2023 to the 21st percentile in 2023-2024, then recovered slightly to the 28th percentile in the most recent year. Overall proficiency is well below state averages: 19.7% proficient in English Language Arts versus 44.7% statewide, and 25.9% in math versus 37.3% statewide. The one notable bright spot is 7th grade math, where 33.3% of students are proficient, matching the state rate of 32.9%. By contrast, 8th grade ELA is the weakest area at just 12.5% proficiency, a 20.8-point gap compared to 7th grade ELA. In every grade-level test, the school's scores exactly match the district's, confirming it is the only tested middle school in the district.
Chronic absenteeism is a major concern: 32.0% of Highland Middle students are chronically absent, higher than the district’s 28.0% and the state’s 28.4%. Nearly 31% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, indicating a significant economically disadvantaged population. The school does have a favorable student-teacher ratio of 14.1:1, which could support more individual attention. Dropout rates are low at 1.1%, and the district’s graduation rate is 77.3% versus 85.6% statewide. For parents, the key takeaways are that Highland Middle is a small school with a relatively strong 7th grade math cohort, but literacy across all grades and chronic absenteeism are the most pressing issues to watch.
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