Enrollment
289
Elementary
DISTRICT 404 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. R-1·NCES 080480000777
Ralston Elementary School
25856 COLUMBINE GLEN, GOLDEN, CO 80401 · (303) 982-4386 · Jefferson County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL289 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 96% of Colorado public elementary schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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
17.2:1
17 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
3%
9 students
DISTRICT 35% · 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 | 46 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 52 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 57 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 42 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 48 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 44 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (46) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (44).
Student demographics
28%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
79.2%
CO avg 44.9% . -1.7pp since 2023
Math
77.8%
CO avg 36.1% . -4.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 79 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 78 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 5 points.
CMAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 79.2% | 77.8% |
| 2023-24 | 80.9% | 82.5% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of CO schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
79.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
64.8%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 80% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 65% typical for Colorado schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 15 points, placing it in Colorado's top 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 Ralston Elementary School
Ralston Elementary School's state test result (79.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ralston Elementary School this school | 289 | 3.1% | 79.7% |
| Bradford K8 South LITTLETON | 371 | 4.0% | 65.9% |
| Renaissance Expedition Learn Outward Bound School CASTLE ROCK | 361 | 6.1% | 53.9% |
| Red Rocks Elementary School MORRISON | 292 | 8.6% | 66.0% |
| Marshdale Elementary School EVERGREEN | 375 | 6.9% | 68.0% |
| Parmalee Elementary School INDIAN HILLS | 278 | 11.5% | 80.6% |
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 Ralston Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 79.7% | #15 of 931 | #3 of 82 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 77.8% | #22 of 940 ▼ 12 | #3 of 85 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 79.2% | #25 of 946 ▼ 9 | #5 of 85 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 289 | #747 of 1,056 | #73 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.2:1 | #677 of 896 | #60 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.2% | #818 of 896 | #77 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 3.1% | #983 of 983 | #85 of 85 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.1% | #453 of 664 | #41 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
289
+21 (+8%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 410
Student : Teacher
17.2:1
was 16.8:1
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 | 289 | 16.8 | 17.2:1 | 3% (9) |
| 2023-24 | 288 | 16.6 | 17.3:1 | 4% (12) |
| 2022-23 | 274 | 16.7 | 16.4:1 | 6% (16) |
| 2020-21 | 268 | 16 | 16.8:1 | 5% (13) |
| 2017-18 | 325 | 17.6 | 18.4:1 | 4% (14) |
| 2015-16 | 358 | 22 | 16.3:1 | 3% (10) |
| 2010-11 | 380 | 19 | 20.0:1 | 4% (14) |
| 2000-01 | 441 | 22 | 20.1:1 | 1% (6) |
| 1990-91 | 410 | 17 | 24.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ralston Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (325 to 289); teachers down 5% (17.6 to 16.8).
About Ralston Elementary School
Ralston Elementary School is a public low-enrollment elementary school in GOLDEN, Colorado. It enrolled 289 students in kindergarten through 5 for the 2024-25 school year. Enrollment is 24% lower than the average for elementary schools in Colorado, which is about 379.
Ralston Elementary School falls under Jefferson County School District No. R-1, which has 148 schools enrolling 74,935 students.
About 84% of the student body at Ralston Elementary School is White. Smaller groups are 8% multiracial and 6% Hispanic. Ralston Elementary School's diversity index is 28%, against a US figure of 70%.
With 16.8 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Ralston Elementary School was 17.2:1. That matches the 16.6:1 average for elementary schools in Colorado fairly closely. Ralston Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 3%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Jefferson County is 32%.
Ralston Elementary School is graded A+ by allk12, scoring above 96% of Colorado public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. Ralston Elementary School beats its 64.8% prediction with 79.7%, a top-10% result in Colorado.
Jefferson County has these Census figures: the median household income is $110,656, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 52%, and about 4% of people live in poverty. In all, Jefferson County has 168 public schools and roughly 74,739 students.
Nearby, Bergen Elementary School is about 3.5 miles away. There are 6 more public schools inside five miles. Nearby schools average 61.2% on proficiency, and Ralston Elementary School is above that at 79.7%.
Its location is classified as Rural: Fringe by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Ralston Elementary School's enrollment grew from 268 in 2020-21 to 289 in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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 GOLDEN
- Golden High SchoolHigh · 1,469 students
- Bell Middle SchoolMiddle · 774 students
- Golden View Classical AcademyCombined · 737 students
- Fairmount Elementary SchoolElementary · 601 students
- Kyffin Elementary SchoolElementary · 503 students
- Mitchell Elementary SchoolElementary · 478 students
Other Ralston Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Ralston Elementary. Ralston Elementary School is the largest of the 2.
- Ralston Elementary SchoolMachesney Park, IL · 232 students
Nearby schools
- Bergen Elementary School3.5 mi · 456
- Shelton Elementary School4.2 mi · 394
- Bergen Meadow Primary School4.4 mi · 262
- Mitchell Elementary School4.5 mi · 478
- Evergreen Middle School4.6 mi · 478
- Golden High School4.6 mi · 1,469
Frequently asked questions
About Ralston Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Ralston Elementary School?
Ralston Elementary School enrolls approximately 289 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Ralston Elementary School serve?
Ralston Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Ralston Elementary School have?
Ralston Elementary School employs 17 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.2:1.
What is the student diversity at Ralston Elementary School?
Student demographics at Ralston Elementary School are roughly 84% White, 6% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is Ralston Elementary School in?
Ralston 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.