Schools · Palisade

Palisade, CO schools

Palisade’s public schools score well below Colorado’s averages: 38% of students are proficient in reading against 47% statewide, and 80% of high schoolers graduate on time against 81.7%. Kids attend Taylor Elementary School through grade 5, then one of 8 schools and Palisade High School.

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

TownTapestry School GradeNew

Palisade’s School Grade: B-

The public schools Palisade’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 55% of Colorado’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.

B-Test scoresCGraduation
Colorado school districts we grade (161)Better than 45%
Lower resultsHigher results
Colorado towns with similar household incomes (142)Better than 31%
High confidence. Built on 8,506 tested students and a graduating class of 1,633; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
  • Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Colorado’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
  • The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
  • Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Colorado only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
  • Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Colorado with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
  • What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path

Where Palisade kids go to school

Grades PK–5
BTaylor Elementary School 310 students · Palisade Mesa County Valley School District 51
Grades 6–12
8 schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Mesa County Valley School District 51
Grades 12
B+Palisade High School 1,073 students · Palisade Mesa County Valley School District 51

Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.

Test scores · 2020–21

Well below the state in reading

Reading (grades PK–12, Mesa County Valley School District 51)38%
State average 47%
Math (grades PK–12, Mesa County Valley School District 51)26%
State average 30.4%
Graduation · class of 2020

80% graduate on time

Graduation rate
80%
CO: 81.7%
Graduating class
1,633
students

The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #119 of 142 CO towns →

Districts

The district serving Palisade

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Within reach

Colleges near Palisade

There’s no college in Palisade, but 2 colleges are within 30 miles. The closest is Intellitec College-Grand Junction in Grand Junction, 9.3 miles away.

Colorado Mesa UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Grand Junction10.7 mi8,322 students

Straight-line distance from the center of Palisade. Degree-granting colleges with students on campus. Colleges marked › have their own page; the others are too small or don’t report enough to the Department of Education for one.

Every school

All 2 schools in Palisade

Showing 1–2 of 2 schools

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.

Also serving Palisade

Schools Palisade kids attend in other towns

Public schools in Palisade’s district that are located in Fruita, Grand Junction, Clifton and Gateway. Which one depends on your address.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01