Summary:
The 81503 zip code area in Colorado is home to 5 schools, including 4 elementary schools and 1 middle school. The standout school in this area is New Emerson School at Columbus, a magnet school that consistently outperforms the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 and the state of Colorado on standardized test scores across all grade levels and subject areas.
New Emerson School has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger, placing it in the top 15% of elementary schools in Colorado, in contrast to the other schools in the 81503 zip code which have 1-3 star ratings. In the 2024-2025 school year, New Emerson School had 63.1% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 60.9% proficient or better in Math, compared to the district averages of 43.1% and 34.7% respectively. The school also had an impressive 68.2% proficiency rate in 5th grade Science, well above the district and state scores.
The other schools in the 81503 zip code area have mixed performance, with some grades and subjects above average and others below. Dos Rios Elementary had the lowest test scores, with proficiency rates well below the district and state. Across all 5 schools, the chronic absenteeism rate was 27.7% in 2023-2024, which is an area of concern and likely contributing to the lower test scores seen at some of the schools. The free/reduced lunch rates also varied significantly, from 13.57% at New Emerson School to 83.16% at Dos Rios Elementary, indicating significant socioeconomic diversity within the zip code.
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