Enrollment
361
Elementary
DISTRICT 422 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ADAMS 12 FIVE STAR SCHOOLS·NCES 080690001182
McElwain Elementary School
1020 DAWSON DRIVE, THORNTON, CO 80229 · (720) 972-5500 · Adams County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL361 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 6% of Colorado public elementary schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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
14.4:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
90%
325 students
DISTRICT 57% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 56 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 58 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 62 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 61 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 54 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 70 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (56) is 20% smaller than its 5th grade class (70).
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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 ExpectationsMath
8.0%
CO avg 36.1% . +4.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 8 of every 100 students at this school do math at grade level. The Colorado average is about 36 of 100. Math scores are up about 5 points since 2023.
CMAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | N/A | 8.0% |
| 2023-24 | 7.9% | 3.3% |
% 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
9.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
12.1%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 10% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 12% 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 McElwain Elementary School
McElwain Elementary School's state test result (9.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| McElwain Elementary School this school | 361 | 90.0% | 9.8% |
| Vega Collegiate Academy AURORA | 583 | 97.8% | 15.6% |
| Stukey Elementary School NORTHGLENN | 348 | 87.6% | 20.4% |
| Jackson Elementary School GREELEY | 508 | 83.3% | 20.9% |
| Malley Drive Elementary School NORTHGLENN | 435 | 77.5% | 17.8% |
| Acres Green Elementary School LITTLETON | 341 | 36.7% | 40.0% |
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 McElwain Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Adams County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 9.8% | #918 of 931 | #84 of 89 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 8.0% | #906 of 940 ▲ 28 | #79 of 89 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 7.9% | #938 of 946 | #83 of 89 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 361 | #538 of 1,056 | #66 of 97 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #285 of 896 | #10 of 90 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.2% | #165 of 896 | #11 of 90 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 90.0% | #33 of 983 | #9 of 91 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.0% | #261 of 664 | #26 of 63 |
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
361
-10 (-3%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 518
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
was 13.7:1
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 | 361 | 25 | 14.4:1 | 90% (325) |
| 2023-24 | 358 | 26.5 | 13.5:1 | 92% (328) |
| 2022-23 | 369 | 26 | 14.2:1 | 89% (329) |
| 2020-21 | 371 | 27 | 13.7:1 | 84% (311) |
| 2017-18 | 457 | 26.3 | 17.4:1 | 83% (378) |
| 2015-16 | 435 | 26 | 16.7:1 | 82% (356) |
| 2010-11 | 472 | 30 | 15.7:1 | 95% (447) |
| 2000-01 | 524 | 32 | 16.4:1 | 68% (354) |
| 1990-91 | 518 | 27 | 19.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for McElwain Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 21% (457 to 361); teachers down 5% (26.3 to 25).
About McElwain Elementary School
McElwain Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school in Adams 12 Five Star Schools, located in THORNTON, Colorado. The school has 361 students in 2024-25 across kindergarten through 5.
McElwain Elementary School is a school in Adams 12 Five Star Schools. The district has 54 schools and 34,466 students.
The largest group at McElwain Elementary School is Hispanic students, at 51%. The remaining students are 31% Asian, 13% White, and 4% multiracial. Among people living in Adams County, the Hispanic share is about 43%. The diversity index for McElwain Elementary School is 62%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
McElwain Elementary School lists 25 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 14.4 students per teacher. Across elementary schools in Colorado, the average ratio is 16.6:1. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 90% of the student body. It compares with 62% for public schools in Adams County.
McElwain Elementary School earns a D on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 6% of Colorado public elementary schools.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, McElwain Elementary School would score about 12.1%. It scores 9.8%, 2.3 points below that figure.
For the population of Adams County, the median household earns about $94,571 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 29% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Across Adams County, 171 public schools serve about 87,938 students.
Of the public schools around it, McElwain Elementary School is closest to Coronado Hills Elementary School, about 0.3 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, McElwain Elementary School ranks 7th of 7 on average proficiency.
Federal data place McElwain Elementary School in the Suburb: Large locale, which means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over 4 years, enrollment fell by 10 students, from 371 to 361.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Adams County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
530,225
Census ACS
Median income
$94,571
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
171
87,938 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Adams 12 Five Star Schools
- Legacy High SchoolHigh · 2,052 students
- Horizon High SchoolHigh · 1,966 students
- Northglenn High SchoolHigh · 1,844 students
- Mountain Range High SchoolHigh · 1,788 students
- Stargate Charter SchoolCombined · 1,572 students
- Prospect Ridge AcademyCombined · 1,478 students
Other schools in THORNTON
- Riverdale Ridge High SchoolHigh · 1,784 students
- Stargate Charter SchoolCombined · 1,572 students
- Thornton High SchoolHigh · 1,439 students
- Rocky Top Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,052 students
- Rodger Quist Middle SchoolMiddle · 855 students
- York InternationalCombined · 776 students
Other McElwain Elementary schools
One other US public school is named McElwain Elementary. McElwain Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- McElwain Elementary SchoolKATY, TX · 1,039 students
Nearby schools
- Coronado Hills Elementary School0.3 mi · 412
- New America School - Thornton0.5 mi · 190
- Monterey Community School0.7 mi · 440
- Academy High School0.9 mi · 399
- Clayton Partnership School0.9 mi · 430
- Thornton Elementary School0.9 mi · 387
Frequently asked questions
About McElwain Elementary SchoolHow large is McElwain Elementary School?
McElwain Elementary School enrolls approximately 361 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does McElwain Elementary School serve?
McElwain Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at McElwain Elementary School?
Approximately 14.4:1 students per teacher at McElwain Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at McElwain Elementary School?
At McElwain Elementary School, the student body is approximately 13% White, 51% Hispanic, 1% Black, 31% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is McElwain Elementary School public or private?
McElwain Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Adams 12 Five Star Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.