Summary:
Zip code 81635 is home to one middle school, Grand Valley Middle School, which serves grades 6–8 in Parachute, Colorado, and enrolls 264 students. Because it is the only middle school in the area, there are no nearby schools to compare it to, so the best context comes from looking at how it stacks up against the rest of the state and its own district, Grand Valley School District No. 16.
Academically, Grand Valley Middle School is facing significant challenges. It currently ranks 458th out of 469 Colorado middle schools, placing it in the 2nd percentile with a 0-star rating. Proficiency rates are far below state averages across every subject: only 12.5% of students are proficient in English Language Arts, compared to 44.7% statewide, and math proficiency is just 5.5% versus 35.9% statewide. Science proficiency for 8th graders is also very low at 8.3%, compared to 35.4% statewide. The school’s ranking has declined sharply in recent years, dropping from the 13th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 2nd percentile in 2025-2026. With 63.64% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, this is a high-poverty school where economic need is a major factor in these outcomes.
Despite the low test scores, there are a few positive signs. The school’s chronic absenteeism rate of 23.4% is better than the state average of 28.4%, and its dropout rate of 1.0% is lower than both the district (2.0%) and state (1.6%). Students are attending school regularly and staying enrolled, which suggests the issues are not about attendance but about academic support and instructional quality. The district itself ranks 113th out of 115 districts in Colorado, so these struggles are systemic across the area. For parents, the key takeaway is that Grand Valley Middle School is a well-attended, economically disadvantaged school where academic proficiency is well below state norms, and targeted help in math and science should be a priority.
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