Ponderosa High School

Summary:

Ponderosa High School is a public high school located in Parker, Colorado, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 1,402 students. It is part of the Douglas County School District No. Re 1, which is ranked 5 out of 116 districts in Colorado and has a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. Ponderosa High School has a history of strong performance, with a statewide ranking that has fluctuated between the top 20% and top 30% of Colorado high schools over the past decade.

Ponderosa High School consistently outperforms the state and district averages in standardized test scores, particularly in SAT Reading and Writing, where it has maintained a proficiency rate around 70-77% in recent years, compared to the state average of 58-59%. The school also performs well in PSAT/NMSQT assessments, with 9th and 10th-grade students scoring above the district and state averages in both Reading/Writing and Mathematics. In CMAS Science assessments for 11th-grade students, Ponderosa High School's proficiency rate of 38-40% is significantly higher than the state average of 24-25%. Additionally, the school has maintained a strong four-year graduation rate, ranging from 94.2% to 97.6% in recent years, which is well above the state average, and a very low dropout rate, ranging from 0.1% to 0.4% in the past few years.

While Ponderosa High School outperforms the state and district averages, it is interesting to note that some nearby schools, such as Chaparral High School and Legend High School, also demonstrate strong academic performance, with higher rankings and test scores in certain areas. This suggests a high-quality educational landscape in the Douglas County School District. Overall, Ponderosa High School is a high-performing institution that consistently delivers strong academic results, making it an attractive option for families seeking a quality high school education.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 7007 East Bayou Gulch Road
       Parker, CO  80134-5459


(303) 387-4000

District: Douglas County School District No. Re 1

SchoolDigger Rank:
109th of 349 Colorado High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $14,438 Help


Feeder schools for Ponderosa High School:

Elementary:    Franktown Elementary School
    Legacy Point Elementary School
    Mountain View Elementary School
    Northeast Elementary School
Middle:    Sagewood Middle School

Student/teacher ratio:  18.3 Help
Number of students:  1,402

Racial breakdown:

White:
78.2%
Hispanic:
14.4%
Two or more races:
4.3%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  7.4% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Ponderosa High School ranks better than 68.8% of high schools in Colorado. It also ranks 9th among 12 ranked high schools in the Douglas County School District No. Re 1. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 66.37. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Ponderosa 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 Ponderosa High School has the largest high school student body size in the Douglas County School District No. Re 1.  (See more...)
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Ponderosa High School is $14,438, which is the 7th highest among 12 high schools in the Douglas County School District No. Re 1.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Ponderosa High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Ponderosa High School 109th of 349 Colorado public high schools. (See Ponderosa High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Disabled students:
Gifted and Talented students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Douglas County School District No. Re 1:

SchoolDigger ranks Douglas County School District No. Re 1 5th of 116 Colorado school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Ponderosa High School

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Rank History for all students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 82.57 43rd 279 84.6%
2005 83.77 40th 280 85.7%
2006 82.98 36th 286 87.4%
2007 84.80 34th 298 88.6%
2008 81.91 45th 301 85.0%
2009 72.73 85th 310 72.6%
2010 74.26 78th 327 76.1%
2011 75.84 73rd 337 78.3%
2012 83.61 40th 334 88.0%
2013 75.81 71st 349 79.7%
2014 74.62 82nd 369 77.8%
2015 58.57 79th 292 72.9%
2016 46.59 97th 255 62.0%
2017 33.54 145th 256 43.4%
2018 77.05 72nd 388 81.4%
2019 76.98 76th 411 81.5%
2021 51.26 99th 210 52.9%
2022 59.01 85th 221 61.5%
2023 66.85 105th 349 69.9%
2024 66.37 109th 349 68.8%
See the entire list of Colorado High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 6.58 60th 62 3.2%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 35.08 41st 60 31.7%
2022 63.00 25th 77 67.5%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 94.65 7th 188 96.3%
2022 61.15 67th 203 67.0%
2023 54.51 87th 200 56.5%
2024 42.05 118th 211 44.1%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 66.90 76th 239 68.2%
2022 69.76 77th 257 70.0%
2023 65.17 85th 254 66.5%
2024 64.92 91st 257 64.6%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 40.96 42nd 74 43.2%
2024 41.53 42nd 84 50.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 45.99 73rd 118 38.1%
2022 56.58 54th 108 50.0%
2023 46.17 84th 135 37.8%
2024 47.03 90th 140 35.7%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 60.76 88th 240 63.3%
2022 72.29 69th 253 72.7%
2023 62.03 95th 252 62.3%
2024 60.73 98th 256 61.7%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 79.58 30th 181 83.4%
2022 81.60 36th 205 82.4%
2023 70.28 47th 198 76.3%
2024 78.29 34th 199 82.9%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Ponderosa High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 45.09 119th 225 47.1%
2022 53.20 104th 228 54.4%
2023 44.12 130th 234 44.4%
2024 42.47 124th 229 45.9%
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.

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





Data source: Colorado Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Ponderosa High School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 1076 5 11 29 5 n/a n/a 0 1126
1989 999 5 9 33 9 n/a n/a 0 1055
1990 948 4 12 27 12 n/a n/a 0 1003
1991 945 9 15 25 6 n/a n/a 0 1000
1992 1000 7 13 20 7 n/a n/a 0 1047
1993 1495 4 16 33 5 n/a n/a 0 1553
1994 1589 5 18 52 4 n/a n/a 0 1668
1995 1835 13 25 66 4 n/a n/a 0 1943
1996 1835 13 25 66 4 n/a n/a 0 1943
1997 1919 15 33 75 7 n/a n/a 0 2049
1998 1700 19 30 159 9 n/a n/a 0 1917
1999 1695 14 24 83 10 n/a n/a 0 1826
2000 1562 14 29 69 6 n/a n/a 0 1680
2001 1498 13 29 54 9 n/a n/a 0 1603
2002 1638 19 31 73 7 n/a n/a 0 1768
2003 1638 19 31 73 7 n/a n/a 0 1768
2004 1695 30 30 91 1 n/a n/a 0 1847
2005 1697 25 34 99 3 n/a n/a 0 1858
2006 1737 28 46 94 3 n/a n/a 0 1908
2007 1784 28 41 97 8 n/a n/a 0 1958
2008 1827 30 51 108 8 n/a n/a 0 2024
2009 1669 25 45 100 5 n/a n/a 0 1844
2010 1495 22 49 102 9 n/a n/a 0 1677
2011 1198 17 20 136 7 1 50 0 1429
2012 967 16 18 111 9 2 43 0 1166
2013 934 18 18 114 6 0 51 0 1141
2014 945 13 13 127 2 1 59 0 1160
2015 937 12 18 139 11 2 56 0 1175
2016 990 12 16 148 7 4 60 0 1237
2017 1054 10 25 169 9 3 67 0 1337
2018 1058 12 27 180 8 1 63 0 1349
2019 1090 16 32 177 6 4 63 0 1388
2020 1145 4 34 176 9 4 68 0 1440
2021 1130 9 27 192 7 2 69 0 1436
2022 1181 8 30 178 7 0 60 0 1464
2023 1097 11 29 202 3 0 60 0 1402

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 Ponderosa High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1126 66.1 17.0 n/a
1989 1055 65.2 16.1 0.6
1990 1003 66.8 15.0 0.6
1991 1000 67.9 14.7 0.3
1992 1047 65.0 16.1 0.8
1993 1553 89.0 17.4 1.2
1994 1668 95.8 17.4 1.3
1995 1943 108.5 17.9 1
1996 1943 108.5 17.9 1
1997 2049 121.7 16.8 1.1
1998 1917 110.0 17.4 0.5
1999 1826 104.4 17.5 0.3
2000 1680 99.0 17.0 0.3
2001 1603 96.5 16.6 0.4
2002 1768 101.7 17.4 1.6
2003 1768 101.7 17.4 1.6
2004 1847 103.2 17.9 1.9
2005 1858 105.6 17.6 2.6
2006 1908 105.7 18.1 2
2007 1958 107.8 18.2 1.9
2008 2024 110.6 18.3 3
2009 1844 104.9 17.6 3.7
2010 1677 87.2 19.2 5.4
2011 1429 69.9 20.4 8.7
2012 1166 56.0 20.8 8.4
2013 1141 52.3 21.7 8.6
2014 1160 57.7 20.0 8.1
2015 1175 63.0 18.6 4.6
2016 1237 61.0 20.2 7.2
2017 1337 65.0 20.5 9.2
2018 1349 66.0 20.4 10.6
2019 1388 67.8 20.4 10.3
2020 1440 78.7 18.2 11.1
2021 1436 81.8 17.5 n/a
2022 1464 78.2 18.7 7.4
2023 1402 76.2 18.3 n/a

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 Ponderosa High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1126 66.1 17.0 n/a
1989 1055 65.2 16.1 0.6
1990 1003 66.8 15.0 0.6
1991 1000 67.9 14.7 0.3
1992 1047 65.0 16.1 0.8
1993 1553 89.0 17.4 1.2
1994 1668 95.8 17.4 1.3
1995 1943 108.5 17.9 1
1996 1943 108.5 17.9 1
1997 2049 121.7 16.8 1.1
1998 1917 110.0 17.4 0.5
1999 1826 104.4 17.5 0.3
2000 1680 99.0 17.0 0.3
2001 1603 96.5 16.6 0.4
2002 1768 101.7 17.4 1.6
2003 1768 101.7 17.4 1.6
2004 1847 103.2 17.9 1.9
2005 1858 105.6 17.6 2.6
2006 1908 105.7 18.1 2
2007 1958 107.8 18.2 1.9
2008 2024 110.6 18.3 3
2009 1844 104.9 17.6 3.7
2010 1677 87.2 19.2 5.4
2011 1429 69.9 20.4 8.7
2012 1166 56.0 20.8 8.4
2013 1141 52.3 21.7 8.6
2014 1160 57.7 20.0 8.1
2015 1175 63.0 18.6 4.6
2016 1237 61.0 20.2 7.2
2017 1337 65.0 20.5 9.2
2018 1349 66.0 20.4 10.6
2019 1388 67.8 20.4 10.3
2020 1440 78.7 18.2 11.1
2021 1436 81.8 17.5 n/a
2022 1464 78.2 18.7 7.4
2023 1402 76.2 18.3 n/a

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 Ponderosa High School

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2019 $11,575
2020 $12,664
2021 $12,236
2022 $13,336
2023 $14,438

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Ponderosa 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 76th of 411 High schoolsRanks 105th of 349 High schools
 11.6%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students13881402
 1%
African American1611
 31.3%
American Indian63
 50%
Asian3229
 9.4%
Hispanic177202
 14.1%
Pacific Islander40
 100%
White10901097
 0.6%
Two or More Races6360
 4.8%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Ponderosa High School

Ponderosa High School ranks 109th of 349 Colorado high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students at Ponderosa High School are 78% White, 14% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

In the 2022-23 school year, 1,402 students attended Ponderosa High School.


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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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