Did your child’s school ace the state’s report card? Explore this map to see how Colorado schools are performing.

Just like teachers grade students in every subject each year, the Colorado Department of Education grades schools on how well they are educating students.

The latest school and district ratings show that more schools and districts achieved higher ratings in 2023 than in 2022, but the number of schools and districts in good standing remains lower than before the pandemic. Additionally, more schools and districts were newly labeled as low performing, meaning the state will monitor them.

Colorado released preliminary results for school and district ratings in August, at which point schools and districts could ask the state to reconsider their ratings by reviewing additional data. The Colorado State Board of Education in December approved 73 requests for revised ratings among schools — of 82 total requests. And 10 districts that wanted the state to reassess their ratings were given new ratings.

The state determines school and district ratings through several factors, including how well students demonstrate proficiency and growth on state standardized tests as well as graduation rates, dropout rates and college matriculation rates. But Colorado’s approach to evaluating schools has recently come under scrutiny, with many school and district leaders, educators and education advocates wanting school and district grades to reflect much more than test scores.

A state task force convened by lawmakers is currently studying ways to improve the state’s school accountability system.

The most recent set of ratings marks the first time since 2019 that ratings can factor into school accountability, as first reported by Chalkbeat Colorado. The state stopped rating schools for two years during the pandemic. This includes schools on the state’s accountability clock, the schools that are at risk of state oversight if they chronically struggle to meet state expectations. The accountability clock is back in effect this school year. 

Use the above interactive map created for The Colorado Sun by the nonpartisan Keystone Policy to see how the state graded your school and district. 

Ratings for schools are:

Performance Plan (labeled in green in the sidebar on the map): These schools are meeting expectations on the majority of performance metrics.

Improvement Plan (labeled in yellow in the sidebar on the map): These are lower-performing schools that may be meeting expectations on some performance metrics but are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on many.

Priority Improvement Plan (labeled in orange in the sidebar on the map): These are low-performing schools that are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.

Turnaround Plan (labeled in red in the sidebar on the map): These are among the lowest-performing schools in the state. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.

Ratings for districts are:

Accredited with Distinction (labeled in blue in the sidebar on the map): These are the highest-performing districts that are meeting or exceeding expectations on the majority of performance tasks.

Accredited (labeled in green in the sidebar on the map): These districts are meeting expectations on the majority of performance metrics.

Accredited with Improvement Plan (labeled in yellow in the sidebar on the map): These districts are lower performing. They may be meeting expectations on some performance metrics, but they are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on many.

Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan (labeled in orange in the sidebar on the map): These districts are low performing. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these districts until they improve.

Accredited with Turnaround Plan (labeled in red in the sidebar on the map): These districts are among the lowest performing districts in the state. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these districts until they improve.