Public + private high schools, every state.
623
high schools (public + private)
533
public (186 districts)
90
private (NCES PSS)
74,296
public grade‑12 students (seniors, latest year)

CO public HS enrollment trend

Across the 258,362 students enrolled in CO brick-and-mortar public high schools in 2021, the state contracted -1.1% by 2024 (255,629 students, -2,733 net). That's the demographic tide every individual school is fighting or riding.

Charter share of public HS enrollment (latest year): 9.6% (24,641 of 255,629 students). Virtual / nonclassroom-based schools excluded.

🗺️ State context · NAEP 2024

How does CO compare nationally?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only test given the same way to students in every state — making it the benchmark for state-to-state academic comparison. Below, this state's 8th-grade averages and where it sits on the 50-state distribution.

8th-grade math
277
+4 vs national avg (273)
8th-grade reading
265
+5 vs national avg (260)
national avg CO Math → Reading → 260 290 245 275

Each dot is one state's 2024 NAEP 8th-grade averages. CO is highlighted in gold. Dashed lines mark national averages — being upper-right of both = above national in both subjects. Source: NAEP State Snapshot Reports. NAEP doesn't produce per-school scores — this is state-level context.

Where the students are

Top 10 cities by public-HS enrollment

DENVER 61 HS 28,047
COLORADO SPRINGS 37 HS 23,071
AURORA 15 HS 21,564
FORT COLLINS 12 HS 8,972
HIGHLANDS RANCH 6 HS 8,349
LITTLETON 6 HS 7,812
GREELEY 11 HS 6,933
LAKEWOOD 14 HS 6,207
WESTMINSTER 6 HS 5,832
PARKER 4 HS 5,707

School-size distribution

Public, classroom-based · grades 9–12, latest year

Fastest-growing high schools
public, classroom-based · grade 9–12 · 2021→2024
DSST: Elevate Northeast High School
School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C
160→545 +240.6%
The STEAD School
School District 27J
156→421 +169.9%
Timnath Middle-High School
Poudre School District R-1
370→795 +114.9%
Montbello High School
School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C
645→1,112 +72.4%
Brady Exploration School
Jefferson County School District No. R-1
212→294 +38.7%
Northfield High School
School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C
1,570→2,137 +36.1%
Riverdale Ridge High School
School District 27J
1,332→1,784 +33.9%
Vista Academy
School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C
185→242 +30.8%
Animas High School
State Charter School Institute
193→249 +29.0%
Global Leadership Academy
Mapleton School District No. 1 in the county of Adams & St
311→400 +28.6%
Fastest-shrinking high schools
public, classroom-based · grade 9–12 · 2021→2024
New America School - Aurora
State Charter School Institute
169→82 -51.5%
Community Prep Charter School
Colorado Springs School District No. 11 in the county of E
253→158 -37.5%
Poudre High School
Poudre School District R-1
1,958→1,409 -28.0%
Colorado Early Colleges Fort Collins
State Charter School Institute
1,002→725 -27.6%
Mitchell High School
Colorado Springs School District No. 11 in the county of E
1,040→757 -27.2%
Skyline High School
St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J
1,487→1,082 -27.2%
Platte Canyon High School
Platte Canyon School District No. 1 of the county of Park
251→183 -27.1%
West High School
School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C
705→519 -26.4%
Denver Center for International Studies
School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C
285→210 -26.3%
John F Kennedy High School
School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C
908→681 -25.0%

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