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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Powderhorn Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
522
Elementary
DISTRICT 404 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. R-1·NCES 080480001006
Powderhorn Elementary School
12109 WEST COAL MINE AVENUE, LITTLETON, CO 80127 · (303) 982-0074 · Jefferson County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL522 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 31% of Colorado public elementary schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats 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
16.1:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
26%
134 students
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 50%
Community
6
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 | 20 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 70 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 93 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 83 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 85 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 87 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (70) is 20% smaller than its 5th grade class (87).
Student demographics
45%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 52% · 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
38.1%
CO avg 44.9% . -12.1pp since 2023
Math
32.7%
CO avg 36.1% . -2.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 33 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 12 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
CMAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 38.1% | 32.7% |
| 2023-24 | 50.2% | 35.2% |
% 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
39.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.2%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% 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 Powderhorn Elementary School
Powderhorn Elementary School's state test result (39.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powderhorn Elementary School this school | 522 | 25.7% | 39.2% |
| Meadow View Elementary School CASTLE ROCK | 508 | 25.6% | 49.3% |
| Gudy Gaskill Elementary CENTENNIAL | 508 | 28.0% | 61.1% |
| Firestone Charter Academy FIRESTONE | 600 | 22.3% | 40.9% |
| Clear Sky Elementary CASTLE ROCK | 627 | 24.1% | 52.7% |
| Prospect Valley Elementary School WHEAT RIDGE | 583 | 29.3% | 54.6% |
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 Powderhorn Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.2% | #446 of 931 | #55 of 82 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 32.7% | #502 of 940 ▼ 46 | #61 of 85 ▼ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 38.1% | #529 of 946 ▼ 165 | #64 of 85 ▼ 16 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 522 | #205 of 1,056 | #14 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.1:1 | #540 of 896 | #48 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 45.4% | #558 of 896 | #37 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 25.7% | #757 of 983 | #48 of 85 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.7% | #343 of 664 | #32 of 62 |
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
522
+29 (+6%) vs 2020
-32% since 2000-01, when it was 765
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 17.6:1
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 | 522 | 32.5 | 16.1:1 | 26% (134) |
| 2023-24 | 559 | 35.9 | 15.6:1 | 29% (160) |
| 2022-23 | 443 | 28.2 | 15.7:1 | 24% (105) |
| 2020-21 | 493 | 28 | 17.6:1 | 20% (101) |
| 2017-18 | 627 | 31 | 20.3:1 | 20% (126) |
| 2015-16 | 636 | 34 | 18.7:1 | 14% (89) |
| 2010-11 | 638 | 34 | 18.8:1 | 16% (100) |
| 2000-01 | 765 | 41 | 18.7:1 | 3% (20) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Powderhorn Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (627 to 522); teachers up 5% (31 to 32.5).
About Powderhorn Elementary School
Powderhorn Elementary School, a mid-sized elementary school, is located in LITTLETON, Colorado. Students in pre-K through 5 make up the school's enrollment of 522 students. By comparison, elementary schools in Colorado enroll about 379 students on average.
Jefferson County School District No. R-1 operates 148 schools. Combined enrollment is 74,935 students.
White students are 71% of those enrolled at Powderhorn Elementary School. The rest of enrollment is 22% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Census estimates put the White share of Jefferson County's population at about 80%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 45%.
Powderhorn Elementary School lists 32.5 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 16.1 students per teacher. The ratio is within a point of the 16.6:1 average for elementary schools in Colorado. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 26% of the student body.
On the allk12 Grade, Powderhorn Elementary School lands at C, ahead of 31% of Colorado public elementary schools.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Powderhorn Elementary School is 51.2%, and its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 39.2%.
For the population of Jefferson County, the median household earns about $110,656 a year, about 52% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Across Jefferson County, 168 public schools serve about 74,739 students.
Measured in a straight line, Summit Ridge Middle School is about 0.2 miles from Powderhorn Elementary School. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. In a group of 9 nearby schools with scores, Powderhorn Elementary School ranks 7th on average proficiency.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Suburb: Large, meaning it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 522, up from 493 in 2020-21. By 2024-25, the school had 16.1 students per teacher, compared with 17.6 in 2020-21.
On allk12, people connected to Powderhorn Elementary School can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Jefferson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
579,377
Census ACS
Median income
$110,656
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
52%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
168
74,739 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Jefferson County School District No. R-1
- Arvada West High SchoolHigh · 1,923 students
- Ralston Valley Senior High SchoolHigh · 1,875 students
- Chatfield High SchoolHigh · 1,808 students
- Lakewood High SchoolHigh · 1,735 students
- Columbine High SchoolHigh · 1,710 students
- Golden High SchoolHigh · 1,469 students
Other schools in LITTLETON
- Chatfield High SchoolHigh · 1,808 students
- Heritage High SchoolHigh · 1,748 students
- Columbine High SchoolHigh · 1,710 students
- Dakota Ridge Senior High SchoolHigh · 1,277 students
- Littleton High SchoolHigh · 1,187 students
- Rocky Heights Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,129 students
Nearby schools
- Summit Ridge Middle School0.2 mi · 851
- Dakota Ridge Senior High School0.8 mi · 1,277
- Mount Carbon Elementary School0.8 mi · 367
- Westridge Elementary School1.1 mi · 400
- Chatfield High School1.1 mi · 1,808
- Montessori Peaks Charter Academy1.4 mi · 444
Frequently asked questions
About Powderhorn Elementary SchoolHow large is Powderhorn Elementary School?
Powderhorn Elementary School enrolls approximately 522 students in grades PK-05.
Is Powderhorn Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Powderhorn Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Powderhorn Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Powderhorn Elementary School is approximately 16.1:1 (32 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Powderhorn Elementary School?
Student demographics at Powderhorn Elementary School are roughly 71% White, 22% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Powderhorn Elementary School in?
Powderhorn Elementary School is part of Jefferson County School District No. R-1.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.