Enrollment
346
Elementary
DISTRICT 331 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MESA COUNTY VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 51·NCES 080435000616
Nisley Elementary School
543 28-3/4 ROAD, GRAND JUNCTION, CO 81501 · (970) 254-5900 · Mesa County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL346 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 21% 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
16.5:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
82%
282 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 | 51 | 15% |
| Kindergarten | 56 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 54 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 50 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 47 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 37 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 51 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (56) is 10% larger than its 5th grade class (51).
Student demographics
56%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
20.0%
CO avg 44.9% . -1.0pp since 2023
Math
19.7%
CO avg 36.1% . +9.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 20 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 20 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Colorado schools, those numbers are about 45 and 36. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 9 points.
CMAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 20.0% | 19.7% |
| 2023-24 | 21.0% | 10.7% |
% 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
17.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
17.3%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 18% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 17% 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 Nisley Elementary School
Nisley Elementary School's state test result (17.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nisley Elementary School this school | 346 | 81.5% | 17.8% |
| Rocky Mountain Elementary School CLIFTON | 395 | 79.5% | 17.7% |
| Chipeta Elementary School GRAND JUNCTION | 364 | 76.4% | 34.8% |
| Clifton Elementary School CLIFTON | 346 | 75.4% | 14.6% |
| Dos Rios Elementary School GRAND JUNCTION | 293 | 79.5% | 26.9% |
| Northside Elementary School MONTROSE | 327 | 76.5% | 24.8% |
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 Nisley Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Mesa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 17.8% | #804 of 931 | #24 of 26 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 19.7% | #719 of 940 ▲ 139 | #24 of 27 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 20.0% | #822 of 946 ▼ 20 | #26 of 27 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 346 | #578 of 1,056 | #16 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.5:1 | #606 of 896 | #18 of 26 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.2% | #280 of 896 | #1 of 26 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 81.5% | #138 of 983 | #3 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -26.7% | #163 of 664 | #2 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
-50 (-13%) vs 2020
-12% since 1990-91, when it was 392
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
was 14.7:1
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 | 346 | 21 | 16.5:1 | 82% (282) |
| 2023-24 | 350 | 23.5 | 14.9:1 | 85% (296) |
| 2022-23 | 349 | 26.3 | 13.3:1 | 80% (278) |
| 2020-21 | 396 | 27 | 14.7:1 | 84% (334) |
| 2017-18 | 472 | 31 | 15.2:1 | 82% (389) |
| 2015-16 | 523 | 30 | 17.4:1 | 87% (454) |
| 2010-11 | 479 | 30 | 16.0:1 | 77% (367) |
| 2000-01 | 481 | 31 | 15.5:1 | 64% (306) |
| 1990-91 | 392 | 20 | 19.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Nisley Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 27% (472 to 346); teachers down 32% (31 to 21).
About Nisley Elementary School
Nisley Elementary School is an elementary school with a street address in GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado. It serves 346 students in pre-K through 5.
The 45 schools of Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, including Nisley Elementary School, enroll 20,344 students.
At 53%, White students outnumber all other groups at Nisley Elementary School combined. The remaining students are 39% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. Among people living in Mesa County, the White share is about 82%. Nisley Elementary School has a diversity index of 56%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Nisley Elementary School counts 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 16.5 students for each one. Across elementary schools in Colorado, the average ratio is about 16.6:1. About 82% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Mesa County is 53%.
allk12 grades Nisley Elementary School a C-. The grade compares the school only with Colorado public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Nisley Elementary School is 17.3%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 17.8%.
Mesa County census figures show that median household income is about $73,658, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 32% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. A total of 57 public schools operate in Mesa County, serving about 22,232 students.
The shortest distance from Nisley Elementary School to another public school is about 0.6 miles, to Bookcliff Middle School. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Among the 5 closest schools with test data, this one included, Nisley Elementary School ranks 5th on average proficiency.
By NCES locale, the school is City: Small, or inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 396 to 346. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio rose from 14.7:1 to 16.5:1.
The discussion area below is open to posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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 GRAND JUNCTION
- Grand Junction High SchoolHigh · 1,832 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 1,352 students
- Caprock AcademyCombined · 871 students
- Redlands Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Orchard Mesa Middle SchoolMiddle · 560 students
- Bookcliff Middle SchoolMiddle · 525 students
Nearby schools
- Bookcliff Middle School0.6 mi · 525
- Career Center Preschool0.8 mi · 53
- Orchard Avenue Elementary School1.3 mi · 319
- Independence Academy1.3 mi · 491
- Fruitvale Elementary School1.3 mi · 358
- R-5 High School1.4 mi · 207
Frequently asked questions
About Nisley Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Nisley Elementary School?
Nisley Elementary School enrolls approximately 346 students in grades PK-05.
Is Nisley Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Nisley Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Nisley Elementary School?
Approximately 16.5:1 students per teacher at Nisley Elementary School.
How diverse is Nisley Elementary School?
Nisley Elementary School reports a student body of 53% White, 39% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Nisley Elementary School in?
Nisley Elementary School is part of Mesa County Valley School District No. 51.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.