Summary:
Zip code 80904 in Colorado Springs, CO, is served by two middle schools for grades 6-8: Holmes Middle School and West Middle School, both part of Colorado Springs School District No. 11. Holmes is the larger school with about 600 students, while West is much smaller at roughly 119 students.
The two schools present starkly different academic profiles. Holmes is a standout performer, ranking in the 66th percentile statewide with a 3-star rating in 2025-2026, and it outperforms both the district and state averages in English Language Arts, math, and science. For example, 50.4% of Holmes students are proficient in ELA, and 41.8% are proficient in 8th grade science. West, on the other hand, ranks in the 13th percentile with a 1-star rating and falls far below district and state averages in every subject. West’s science proficiency is just 8.5%, and its ELA proficiency is only 21.0%—less than half of Holmes’s rate. This achievement gap within the same zip code is striking.
Both schools face high chronic absenteeism, but West’s rate of 52.2% (compared to Holmes’s 41.3%) is especially concerning, and West also has a much higher poverty rate, with 80.7% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch versus 45.5% at Holmes. Interestingly, West has a smaller student-teacher ratio (10.0 to 1) than Holmes (19.9 to 1), yet performs far worse, suggesting that staffing alone does not overcome deeper challenges. Year-to-year trends show Holmes declined in 2025-2026 after a stronger prior year, while West improved modestly in ELA and math from very low levels. Overall, Holmes remains the stronger school but should be monitored for its recent dip, while West clearly needs significant additional support, particularly around attendance and academic intervention.
Thank you for your feedback!