Summary:
Zip code 81524 is served by a single elementary school, Loma Elementary School, which serves grades PK through 5 in the Loma, Colorado area. With 207 students and a favorable 14.8 student-to-teacher ratio, Loma is part of the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, a district ranked 38th out of 115 in Colorado. About 37.7% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, a relatively low rate for the state. Loma itself ranks 496th out of 943 Colorado elementary schools, placing it in the 47th percentile and earning a 2-star rating for the 2025-2026 school year.
Parents will find clear strengths in upper-grade academics. Loma’s 5th grade math proficiency is 51.4%, significantly outperforming the district’s 38.6% and the state’s 39.3%. In English language arts, 4th and 5th graders exceed both district and state averages, with 5th graders reaching 52.8% proficiency. Chronic absenteeism is another bright spot: 21.0% of students are chronically absent, far better than the district’s 36.7% and also better than the state rate of 28.4%. However, not all areas shine. Only 18.2% of 3rd graders are proficient in ELA, a steep 22.6-point gap below the state average, and 5th grade science proficiency plummeted from 34.5% to 20.0% in the latest year.
The overall picture is mixed but hopeful. Loma is a small school, so year-to-year swings can be driven by a single classroom or cohort, which likely explains both the impressive upper-grade results and the weaker 3rd grade and science scores. The school’s overall state ranking slipped from the 57th percentile in 2023-2024 to 47th in the past two years, with math proficiency dropping 3.8 points district-wide comparisons aside. Still, Loma’s strong 5th grade math, healthy attendance, and low student-to-teacher ratio provide solid foundations. Targeted attention to early literacy and 5th grade science could help this mid-performing school turn its pockets of excellence into more consistent success.
Thank you for your feedback!