Enrollment
346
Elementary
DISTRICT 331 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MESA COUNTY VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 51·NCES 080435000602
Clifton Elementary School
3276 F ROAD, CLIFTON, CO 81520 · (970) 254-4760 · Mesa County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL346 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 3% of Colorado public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Colorado public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
261 students
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 50%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 41 | 12% |
| Kindergarten | 45 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 55 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 43 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 59 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 53 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (45) is 15% smaller than its 5th grade class (53).
Student demographics
51%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CMAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
14.8%
CO avg 44.9% . +0.8pp since 2023
Math
12.3%
CO avg 36.1% . -1.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 15 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 12 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Colorado schools, those numbers are about 45 and 36. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are down about 2 points.
CMAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 14.8% | 12.3% |
| 2023-24 | 14.0% | 13.8% |
% Met or Exceeded Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CMAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
14.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
21.0%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 15% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 21% typical for Colorado schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Colorado's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Clifton Elementary School
Clifton Elementary School's state test result (14.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton Elementary School this school | 346 | 75.4% | 14.6% |
| Chipeta Elementary School GRAND JUNCTION | 364 | 76.4% | 34.8% |
| Rocky Mountain Elementary School CLIFTON | 395 | 79.5% | 17.7% |
| Sandrock Elementary CRAIG | 299 | 70.2% | 30.7% |
| Fruitvale Elementary School GRAND JUNCTION | 358 | 70.1% | 27.3% |
| Dos Rios Elementary School GRAND JUNCTION | 293 | 79.5% | 26.9% |
Matched among Colorado elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Clifton Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Mesa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 14.6% | #869 of 931 | #26 of 26 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 12.3% | #860 of 940 ▼ 44 | #26 of 27 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 14.8% | #892 of 946 ▼ 6 | #27 of 27 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 346 | #577 of 1,056 | #15 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.7:1 | #311 of 896 | #6 of 26 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.6% | #433 of 896 | #5 of 26 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 75.4% | #210 of 983 | #7 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -24.1% | #211 of 664 | #5 of 20 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
346
-49 (-12%) vs 2020
-38% since 1990-91, when it was 561
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 14.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 346 | 23.6 | 14.7:1 | 75% (261) |
| 2023-24 | 375 | 21.8 | 17.2:1 | 84% (316) |
| 2022-23 | 373 | 22.9 | 16.3:1 | 73% (272) |
| 2020-21 | 395 | 27 | 14.6:1 | 82% (323) |
| 2017-18 | 456 | 26 | 17.5:1 | 80% (366) |
| 2015-16 | 485 | 29 | 16.7:1 | 84% (405) |
| 2010-11 | 442 | 31 | 14.3:1 | 74% (327) |
| 2000-01 | 463 | 37 | 12.5:1 | 65% (302) |
| 1990-91 | 561 | 33 | 17.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Clifton Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 24% (456 to 346); teachers down 9% (26 to 23.6).
About Clifton Elementary School
Clifton Elementary School, a medium-sized elementary school, is located in CLIFTON, Colorado. The latest federal count shows 346 students in pre-K through 5.
Within Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, Clifton Elementary School is one of 45 schools. The district enrolls 20,344 students.
Roughly 60% of students at Clifton Elementary School are White. Other groups include 37% Hispanic. By comparison, Mesa County residents are about 82% White. Clifton Elementary School's diversity index is 51%, against a US figure of 70%.
Dividing enrollment by its 23.6 full-time-equivalent teachers gives a ratio of about 14.7:1. That is 1.9 students per teacher below the 16.6:1 average for elementary schools in Colorado. Clifton Elementary School reports 75% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. For comparison, public schools in Mesa County average 53%.
Measured against Colorado public elementary schools, Clifton Elementary School receives an F. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 21.0% for Clifton Elementary School. The school posts 14.6%, 6.4 points below the prediction.
Within Mesa County, the median household income is $73,658, 32% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Clifton Elementary School, Mesa County has 56 other public schools.
The shortest distance from Clifton Elementary School to another public school is about 1.3 miles, to Grand Mesa Middle School. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Clifton Elementary School ranks 9th on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Clifton Elementary School is coded Suburb: Mid-size, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Enrollment has fallen by 49 students since 2020-21, to 346.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at Clifton Elementary School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Mesa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
158,601
Census ACS
Median income
$73,658
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
57
22,232 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Mesa County Valley School District No. 51
- Grand Junction High SchoolHigh · 1,832 students
- Fruita Monument High SchoolHigh · 1,427 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 1,352 students
- Palisade High SchoolHigh · 1,073 students
- Fruita Middle SchoolMiddle · 690 students
- Redlands Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
Other schools in CLIFTON
- Mount Garfield Middle SchoolMiddle · 569 students
- Rocky Mountain Elementary SchoolElementary · 395 students
Other Clifton Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Clifton Elementary. Clifton Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Clifton Elementary SchoolCLIFTON, TX · 455 students
Nearby schools
- Grand Mesa Middle School1.3 mi · 476
- Central High School1.5 mi · 1,352
- Rocky Mountain Elementary School1.6 mi · 395
- Chatfield Elementary School1.8 mi · 371
- Ascent Classical Academy of Grand Junction2.0 mi · 457
- Mount Garfield Middle School2.0 mi · 569
Frequently asked questions
About Clifton Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Clifton Elementary School?
Clifton Elementary School enrolls approximately 346 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Clifton Elementary School serve?
Clifton Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Clifton Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Clifton Elementary School is approximately 14.7:1 (24 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Clifton Elementary School?
At Clifton Elementary School, the student body is approximately 60% White, 37% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Two or more.
Is Clifton Elementary School public or private?
Clifton Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Mesa County Valley School District No. 51.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.