Thomas Jefferson High School

Summary:

Thomas Jefferson High School is a public high school in Denver, Colorado, serving 1,329 students in grades 9-12 and part of the School District No. 1, which is ranked 78 out of 116 districts in the state.

The school has a diverse student population, with 34.24% White, 18.21% African American, 37.7% Hispanic, and 3.31% Asian students. Academically, Thomas Jefferson High School's performance is generally on par or slightly below district and state averages, with proficiency rates of 58% in SAT Reading and Writing and 34% in SAT Mathematics. However, the school's 35.4% proficiency in CMAS Science is higher than the district (17.8%) and state (24.8%) averages. When looking at student subgroups, the school performs better for Hispanic and White students compared to African American and Asian students.

Compared to nearby high-performing schools like Cherry Creek High School and Arapahoe High School, Thomas Jefferson High School generally performs worse on academic measures. The school also has a relatively high percentage of students (46.51% to 49.81%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting a need for targeted support and resources to address the unique needs of this student population. Overall, the school faces challenges, including declining rankings, performance gaps among student subgroups, and lower academic achievement compared to nearby high-performing schools.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 3950 South Holly Street
       Denver, CO  80237-1117


(720) 423-7000

District: School District No. 1

SchoolDigger Rank:
162nd of 349 Colorado High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $16,638 Help


Feeder schools for Thomas Jefferson High School:

Elementary:    Bradley International School
    Ellis Elementary School
    Holm Elementary School
    Joe Shoemaker School
    More...
Middle:    Hamilton Middle School

Student/teacher ratio:  18.6 Help
Number of students:  1,375

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
38.8%
White:
32.9%
African American:
17.8%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  49.6% Help


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 Compare Thomas Jefferson High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Thomas Jefferson High School ranks better than 53.6% of high schools in Colorado. It also ranks 10th among 36 ranked high schools in the School District No. 1. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 51.4. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Thomas Jefferson High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
Help
The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Student population at Thomas Jefferson High School is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (38.8%), White (32.9%), African American (17.8%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 49.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Thomas Jefferson High School is 18.6. 45 high schools in the School District No. 1 have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Thomas Jefferson High School employs 73.7 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Thomas Jefferson High School is $16,638. 34 high schools in the School District No. 1 spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Thomas Jefferson High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Thomas Jefferson High School 162nd of 349 Colorado public high schools. (See Thomas Jefferson High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
English Language Learner students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Disabled students:
Gifted and Talented students:
Male students:
Asian students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


School District No. 1:

SchoolDigger ranks School District No. 1 78th of 116 Colorado school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Thomas Jefferson High School?

Rank History for Thomas Jefferson High School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 39.69 172nd 279 38.4%
2005 29.53 212th 280 24.3%
2006 39.95 187th 286 34.6%
2007 33.92 212th 298 28.9%
2008 40.71 192nd 301 36.2%
2009 35.86 213th 310 31.3%
2010 46.52 199th 327 39.1%
2011 39.96 219th 337 35.0%
2012 35.60 228th 334 31.7%
2013 42.88 215th 349 38.4%
2014 51.79 181st 369 50.9%
2015 47.29 111th 292 62.0%
2016 50.41 85th 255 66.7%
2017 51.93 90th 256 64.8%
2018 63.11 122nd 388 68.6%
2019 67.04 116th 411 71.8%
2021 33.53 136th 210 35.2%
2022 26.76 155th 221 29.9%
2023 50.82 156th 349 55.3%
2024 51.40 162nd 349 53.6%
See the entire list of Colorado High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 26.92 40th 56 28.6%
2023 47.85 37th 62 40.3%
2024 57.76 31st 61 49.2%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 35.15 17th 32 46.9%
2023 44.71 17th 44 61.4%
2024 47.42 17th 36 52.8%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 34.83 42nd 60 30.0%
2022 31.38 49th 77 36.4%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 51.03 80th 188 57.4%
2022 33.12 140th 203 31.0%
2023 48.76 102nd 200 49.0%
2024 45.38 114th 211 46.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 49.26 119th 239 50.2%
2022 36.82 158th 257 38.5%
2023 46.76 130th 254 48.8%
2024 48.32 126th 257 51.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 42.02 39th 74 47.3%
2024 44.76 40th 84 52.4%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 38.34 90th 118 23.7%
2023 61.69 58th 135 57.0%
2024 63.87 55th 140 60.7%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 49.64 116th 240 51.7%
2022 50.26 119th 253 53.0%
2023 48.67 121st 252 52.0%
2024 46.93 127th 256 50.4%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 25.01 34th 43 20.9%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 41.16 16th 29 44.8%
2022 29.96 24th 34 29.4%
2023 35.32 23rd 36 36.1%
2024 31.06 25th 38 34.2%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 39.44 97th 181 46.4%
2022 40.02 106th 205 48.3%
2023 46.50 95th 198 52.0%
2024 47.03 95th 199 52.3%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Thomas Jefferson High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 75.81 52nd 225 76.9%
2022 63.63 83rd 228 63.6%
2023 59.74 90th 234 61.5%
2024 65.61 83rd 229 63.8%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Colorado Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Thomas Jefferson High School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Colorado Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 4.5)
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Enrollment information for Thomas Jefferson High School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 852 385 26 153 5 n/a n/a 0 1421
1989 763 320 28 163 3 n/a n/a 0 1277
1990 671 294 24 139 2 n/a n/a 0 1130
1991 623 309 21 160 7 n/a n/a 0 1120
1992 531 283 18 161 7 n/a n/a 0 1000
1993 517 305 21 143 5 n/a n/a 0 991
1994 419 299 22 149 7 n/a n/a 0 896
1995 414 351 26 169 3 n/a n/a 0 963
1996 414 351 26 169 3 n/a n/a 0 963
1997 443 323 28 148 4 n/a n/a 0 946
1998 522 289 31 135 4 n/a n/a 0 981
1999 581 295 31 118 5 n/a n/a 0 1030
2000 576 266 35 129 8 n/a n/a 0 1014
2001 592 287 31 113 4 n/a n/a 0 1027
2002 578 330 36 158 11 n/a n/a 0 1113
2003 578 330 36 158 11 n/a n/a 0 1113
2004 581 317 41 157 15 n/a n/a 0 1111
2005 561 306 47 188 13 n/a n/a 0 1115
2006 532 321 45 195 13 n/a n/a 0 1106
2007 536 351 34 205 13 n/a n/a 0 1139
2008 542 366 35 218 14 n/a n/a 0 1175
2009 491 371 41 232 16 n/a n/a 0 1151
2010 482 314 39 234 9 n/a n/a 0 1078
2011 403 271 26 290 8 5 67 0 1070
2012 390 253 28 306 11 3 57 0 1048
2013 383 289 27 315 18 1 56 0 1089
2014 402 279 30 312 9 0 51 0 1083
2015 418 242 25 309 13 1 50 0 1058
2016 414 236 29 317 13 1 59 0 1069
2017 409 200 29 330 10 1 74 0 1053
2018 427 182 30 367 10 2 63 0 1081
2019 441 202 36 402 5 3 64 0 1153
2020 458 208 50 434 7 2 76 0 1235
2021 461 229 44 494 5 3 74 0 1310
2022 473 258 47 497 7 6 86 0 1374
2023 455 242 44 501 8 3 76 0 1329
2024 452 245 51 534 4 2 72 15 1375

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Thomas Jefferson High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1421 74.7 19.0 n/a
1989 1277 69.6 18.3 9.9
1990 1130 70.7 15.9 11.2
1991 1120 68.6 16.3 13.7
1992 1000 65.9 15.1 15
1993 991 57.4 17.3 20.5
1994 896 54.7 16.4 22.1
1995 963 50.7 19.0 20.5
1996 963 50.7 19.0 20.5
1997 946 49.7 19.0 31.2
1998 981 47.4 20.7 21
1999 1030 54.3 19.0 17.3
2000 1014 53.7 18.9 21.5
2001 1027 55.5 18.5 19.9
2002 1113 60.0 18.6 23.5
2003 1113 60.0 18.6 23.5
2004 1111 56.8 19.6 26.3
2005 1115 53.8 20.7 26.1
2006 1106 53.2 20.8 30.2
2007 1139 60.6 18.8 37.8
2008 1175 64.6 18.2 34.5
2009 1151 64.5 17.8 35.2
2010 1078 62.1 17.3 42.4
2011 1070 60.5 17.6 47.8
2012 1048 52.9 19.7 53.5
2013 1089 58.9 18.4 55
2014 1083 64.0 16.9 54.2
2015 1058 62.0 17.0 49.8
2016 1069 62.0 17.2 51.4
2017 1053 60.9 17.2 50.6
2018 1081 60.0 17.9 49.4
2019 1153 61.1 18.8 50.1
2020 1235 64.9 19.0 48
2021 1310 68.9 18.9 49.1
2022 1374 69.9 19.6 46.5
2023 1329 74.1 17.9 49.8
2024 1375 73.7 18.6 49.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Thomas Jefferson High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1421 74.7 19.0 n/a
1989 1277 69.6 18.3 9.9
1990 1130 70.7 15.9 11.2
1991 1120 68.6 16.3 13.7
1992 1000 65.9 15.1 15
1993 991 57.4 17.3 20.5
1994 896 54.7 16.4 22.1
1995 963 50.7 19.0 20.5
1996 963 50.7 19.0 20.5
1997 946 49.7 19.0 31.2
1998 981 47.4 20.7 21
1999 1030 54.3 19.0 17.3
2000 1014 53.7 18.9 21.5
2001 1027 55.5 18.5 19.9
2002 1113 60.0 18.6 23.5
2003 1113 60.0 18.6 23.5
2004 1111 56.8 19.6 26.3
2005 1115 53.8 20.7 26.1
2006 1106 53.2 20.8 30.2
2007 1139 60.6 18.8 37.8
2008 1175 64.6 18.2 34.5
2009 1151 64.5 17.8 35.2
2010 1078 62.1 17.3 42.4
2011 1070 60.5 17.6 47.8
2012 1048 52.9 19.7 53.5
2013 1089 58.9 18.4 55
2014 1083 64.0 16.9 54.2
2015 1058 62.0 17.0 49.8
2016 1069 62.0 17.2 51.4
2017 1053 60.9 17.2 50.6
2018 1081 60.0 17.9 49.4
2019 1153 61.1 18.8 50.1
2020 1235 64.9 19.0 48
2021 1310 68.9 18.9 49.1
2022 1374 69.9 19.6 46.5
2023 1329 74.1 17.9 49.8
2024 1375 73.7 18.6 49.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Thomas Jefferson High School

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2019 $12,560
2020 $12,850
2021 $12,692
2022 $14,200
2023 $16,638

Data source: Colorado Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Thomas Jefferson High School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 116th of 411 High schoolsRanks 156th of 349 High schools
 16.5%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students11531329
 15.3%
African American202242
 19.8%
American Indian58
 60%
Asian3644
 22.2%
Hispanic402501
 24.6%
Pacific Islander33
White441455
 3.2%
Two or More Races6476
 18.8%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients50.1%49.8%
 0.3%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Thomas Jefferson High School

Students at Thomas Jefferson High School are 39% Hispanic, 33% White, 18% African American, 5% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 1% Not Specified.

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,375 students attended Thomas Jefferson High School.

Thomas Jefferson High School ranks 162nd of 349 Colorado high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Colorado Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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