Schools · Thornton
Thornton, CO schools
Thornton’s public schools score close to Colorado’s averages: 46% of students are proficient in reading against 47% statewide, and 84% of high schoolers graduate on time against 81.7%. Kids attend one of 16 schools through grade 8, then one of 7 middle schools and Horizon High School or Riverdale Ridge High School or Thornton High School.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
B+
Thornton’s School Grade: B+
The public schools Thornton’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 65% of Colorado’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.
BTest scoresC+Graduation
Colorado school districts we grade (161)Better than 65%
Lower resultsHigher results
Colorado towns with similar household incomes (145)Better than 46%
High confidence. Built on 11,717 tested students and a graduating class of 3,044; 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 Thornton kids go to school
Grades 9–12
AHorizon High School or BRiverdale Ridge High School or C-Thornton High School
Depends on your address Adams 12 Five Star SchoolsBased on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Close to the state in reading
Reading (grades 8–12, Adams 12 Five Star)46%
State average 47%
Reading (grades PK–8, School District 27J)37%
State average 47%
Math (grades 8–12, Adams 12 Five Star)31%
State average 30.4%
Math (grades PK–8, School District 27J)20%
State average 30.4%
Graduation · class of 2020
84% graduate on time
Graduation rate
84%
CO: 81.7%
Graduating class
3,044
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years.
Districts
Two districts serve Thornton
Adams 12 Five Star SchoolsGrades PK–12 · 54 schools · 34,466 students
$15,831 per studentCO $15,889B+School District 27JGrades PK–12 · 33 schools · 24,044 students
$12,959 per studentCO $15,889B-Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Every school
All 42 schools in Thornton
Showing 1–30 of 42 schools
Discovery Magnet SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 692 students
PublicWest Ridge ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 690 students
B+PublicSTEM LaunchElementary · Grades K–8 · 677 students
DPublicBrantner Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 574 students
B+PublicExplore Pk-8Elementary · Grades PK–8 · 557 students
CPublicSilver Creek ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 538 students
A-PublicHunters Glen Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 491 students
C+PublicTarver Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 475 students
C+PublicEagleview Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–5 · 451 students
B-PublicClayton Partnership SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 430 students
C-PublicStellar Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–5 · 418 students
B-PublicThornton Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 387 students
DPublicWoodglen Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 383 students
C-PublicMeadow Community SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 378 students
C-PublicPrairie Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–5 · 378 students
B+PublicRiverdale Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 372 students
DPublicAchieve AcademyElementary · Grades PK–8 · 370 students
C-PublicSkyview Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–5 · 326 students
B+PublicCherry Drive Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 325 students
C-PublicNorth Star Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 320 students
DPublicRocky Top Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 1,052 students
A-PublicRodger Quist Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 855 students
CPublicThornton Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 721 students
D-PublicCentury Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 717 students
C+PublicShadow Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 632 students
C-PublicHorizon High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,966 students
APublicRiverdale Ridge High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,784 students
BPublicThornton High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,439 students
C-PublicAcademy High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 399 students
CPublicMapleton Expeditionary School of the ArtsHigh · Grades 9–12 · 393 students
DPublicSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.