Nisley Elementary School

Summary:

Nisley Elementary School is a public elementary school in Grand Junction, Colorado, serving 349 students from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade. While part of the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, Nisley Elementary faces significant challenges compared to nearby schools, with lower academic performance, a more diverse student population, and a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students.

Nisley Elementary consistently underperforms the district and state averages in standardized assessments, with only 21% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 41.1% for the district and 44.1% for the state. The school also ranks in the bottom 25% of Colorado elementary schools, placing it in the lowest 1-star or 0-star category on the SchoolDigger rating system. This is particularly concerning for male students and White students, who perform poorly compared to their peers at other schools.

The challenges faced by Nisley Elementary may be linked to its high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with 75-84% receiving free or reduced-price lunch. In contrast, nearby schools like Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary, New Emerson School at Columbus, and Orchard Avenue Elementary generally outperform Nisley Elementary, suggesting that the school's unique challenges may require targeted interventions and additional resources to support its diverse student population and improve educational outcomes.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 543 28-3/4 Road
       Grand Junction, CO  81501-7114


(970) 254-5900

District: Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

SchoolDigger Rank:
879th of 943 Colorado Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $15,295 Help


Students who attend Nisley Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Bookcliff Middle School
High:    Central High School

Student/teacher ratio:  13.2 Help
Number of students:  349

Racial breakdown:

White:
52.7%
Hispanic:
38.1%
Two or more races:
5.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  79.7% Help


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 Compare Nisley Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Nisley Elementary School ranks worse than 93.2% of elementary schools in Colorado. It also ranks 25th among 27 ranked elementary schools in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.14. (See more...)
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 Nisley Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51.  (See more...)
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Nisley Elementary School is $15,295, which is the 4th highest among 27 elementary schools in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51.
Schooldigger Rankings:

Nisley Elementary School was not ranked this year due to insufficient test score data.

Mesa County Valley School District No. 51:

SchoolDigger ranks Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 52nd of 116 Colorado school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Nisley Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Nisley Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 53.08 412th 808 49.0%
2005 39.41 551st 823 33.0%
2006 35.69 577th 829 30.4%
2007 29.08 648th 852 23.9%
2008 26.51 663rd 849 21.9%
2009 21.11 709th 872 18.7%
2010 18.00 777th 925 16.0%
2011 16.36 806th 935 13.8%
2012 29.09 697th 935 25.5%
2013 32.76 679th 954 28.8%
2014 18.83 799th 962 16.9%
2015 14.53 826th 938 11.9%
2016 14.17 811th 914 11.3%
2017 11.35 859th 929 7.5%
2018 15.12 790th 917 13.8%
2019 13.01 869th 965 9.9%
2021 9.89 696th 710 2.0%
2022 14.79 800th 921 13.1%
2023 14.03 828th 933 11.3%
2024 10.14 879th 943 6.8%
See the entire list of Colorado Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Female students at Nisley Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 22.96 547th 690 20.7%
2019 14.44 676th 758 10.8%
2022 17.48 498th 595 16.3%
2023 14.70 565th 642 12.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Nisley Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 12.85 628th 693 9.4%
2019 9.14 734th 764 3.9%
2022 7.72 583rd 594 1.9%
2023 10.96 608th 649 6.3%
See the entire list of Best Colorado Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for White students at Nisley Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 7.58 585th 596 1.8%
2023 5.37 520th 525 1.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado Elementary 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.

Nisley Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
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District Scores:
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Data source: Colorado Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)
0%

0%

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100%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Open Quote This is by far the worst Elementary school in the district. Had I known in advance how bad this school was, I NEVER would have enrolled my son here. My son has a diagnosis of ADHD/ODD. The staff did an extremely poor job dealing with him and his diagnosis. He spent almost the entire first half of the year in the office with noise cancelling head phones on, without ever notifying me. They also forgot to feed him lunch on more than one occasion. They took away all gym and recesses until I found out. They waited till the last minute to take away most field trips. He was singled out the entire year. Even when I knew my son was being honest about an incident, they still punished him. Most of the time I was not notified when he was disciplined. We all were told at the beginning of the school year that he had lost the privilege of going on the end of year camp trip due to his behavior. It took more than 3 years to convince the staff that he needed a 504 plan and they just kept shooting me down. This school and it's staff lost mine and my husbands respect in the second year of my son's attendance. If you have a child with special needs, I STRONGLY recommend you find a better school for your child. My son is also exceptionally smart, but because of his behavior, they refused to put him in any AP classes. Instead, they allowed him to become extremely bored, which only exasperated his behavior. They acted like they were listening to us parents, however, we felt like anything we said fell upon deaf ears. If I could grade this school, they would receive a BIG FAT F! Close Quote



Enrollment information for Nisley Elementary School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 350 2 6 61 1 n/a n/a 0 420
1989 338 2 6 67 1 n/a n/a 0 414
1990 327 6 3 43 1 n/a n/a 0 380
1991 344 4 3 40 1 n/a n/a 0 392
1992 354 4 2 46 0 n/a n/a 0 406
1993 350 6 1 51 0 n/a n/a 0 408
1994 342 4 0 57 5 n/a n/a 0 408
1995 339 2 7 69 4 n/a n/a 0 421
1996 339 2 7 69 4 n/a n/a 0 421
1997 353 5 3 91 5 n/a n/a 0 457
1998 308 2 3 97 1 n/a n/a 0 411
1999 320 7 6 111 5 n/a n/a 0 449
2000 316 0 6 110 9 n/a n/a 0 441
2001 319 7 4 145 6 n/a n/a -4 477
2002 287 6 5 107 10 n/a n/a 0 415
2003 287 6 5 107 10 n/a n/a 0 415
2004 272 6 7 124 12 n/a n/a 0 421
2005 249 6 6 128 9 n/a n/a 0 398
2006 243 6 8 135 10 n/a n/a 0 402
2007 286 14 8 159 15 n/a n/a 0 482
2008 287 7 8 156 11 n/a n/a 0 469
2009 281 8 10 164 13 n/a n/a 0 476
2010 268 12 6 171 7 n/a n/a 0 464
2011 268 3 6 187 6 0 9 0 479
2012 251 1 4 186 4 0 14 0 460
2013 253 0 2 167 4 0 17 0 443
2014 297 0 1 182 1 0 15 0 496
2015 306 2 0 162 3 0 25 0 498
2016 288 2 0 200 4 2 27 0 523
2017 298 6 1 186 3 2 22 0 518
2018 270 2 1 173 2 5 19 0 472
2019 252 2 1 176 2 3 21 0 457
2020 228 4 1 152 4 4 23 0 416
2021 221 5 1 145 3 3 18 0 396
2022 179 6 2 137 2 1 18 0 345
2023 184 10 0 133 4 0 18 0 349

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 Nisley Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 420 19.9 21.1 n/a
1989 414 20.4 20.2 38.2
1990 380 21.9 17.3 38.7
1991 392 20.9 18.7 40.6
1992 406 21.9 18.5 40.9
1993 408 22.9 17.8 42.4
1994 408 23.7 17.2 42.4
1995 421 25.6 16.5 61.5
1996 421 25.6 16.5 61.5
1997 457 25.0 18.3 60.2
1998 411 25.0 16.4 57.2
1999 449 25.9 17.3 54.3
2000 441 30.2 14.6 68.5
2001 477 31.3 15.4 63.6
2002 415 28.0 14.8 72.3
2003 415 28.0 14.8 72.3
2004 421 29.3 14.4 71.7
2005 398 29.2 13.6 74.6
2006 402 26.4 15.2 72.6
2007 482 27.1 17.8 53.9
2008 469 30.0 15.6 69.9
2009 476 27.4 17.4 72.7
2010 464 27.6 16.7 78.7
2011 479 30.5 15.7 76.6
2012 460 28.7 16.0 77.2
2013 443 29.0 15.2 77.4
2014 496 29.9 16.5 79.8
2015 498 31.0 16.0 76.9
2016 523 30.0 17.4 86.8
2017 518 31.1 16.6 84.6
2018 472 31.0 15.2 82.4
2019 457 28.6 15.9 87.1
2020 416 29.7 13.9 80.3
2021 396 27.6 14.3 84.3
2022 345 27.3 12.6 74.8
2023 349 26.2 13.2 79.7

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 Nisley Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 420 19.9 21.1 n/a
1989 414 20.4 20.2 38.2
1990 380 21.9 17.3 38.7
1991 392 20.9 18.7 40.6
1992 406 21.9 18.5 40.9
1993 408 22.9 17.8 42.4
1994 408 23.7 17.2 42.4
1995 421 25.6 16.5 61.5
1996 421 25.6 16.5 61.5
1997 457 25.0 18.3 60.2
1998 411 25.0 16.4 57.2
1999 449 25.9 17.3 54.3
2000 441 30.2 14.6 68.5
2001 477 31.3 15.4 63.6
2002 415 28.0 14.8 72.3
2003 415 28.0 14.8 72.3
2004 421 29.3 14.4 71.7
2005 398 29.2 13.6 74.6
2006 402 26.4 15.2 72.6
2007 482 27.1 17.8 53.9
2008 469 30.0 15.6 69.9
2009 476 27.4 17.4 72.7
2010 464 27.6 16.7 78.7
2011 479 30.5 15.7 76.6
2012 460 28.7 16.0 77.2
2013 443 29.0 15.2 77.4
2014 496 29.9 16.5 79.8
2015 498 31.0 16.0 76.9
2016 523 30.0 17.4 86.8
2017 518 31.1 16.6 84.6
2018 472 31.0 15.2 82.4
2019 457 28.6 15.9 87.1
2020 416 29.7 13.9 80.3
2021 396 27.6 14.3 84.3
2022 345 27.3 12.6 74.8
2023 349 26.2 13.2 79.7

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 Nisley Elementary School

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2019 $11,996
2020 $14,364
2021 $14,048
2022 $14,661
2023 $15,295

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Nisley Elementary 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 869th of 965 Elementary schoolsRanks 828th of 933 Elementary schools
 1.3%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Nisley Elementary School)23.526.5
 3%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)32.937.4
 4.5%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Colorado)41.339.9
 1.4%
3rd Grade Math (Nisley Elementary School)21.225.5
 4.3%
   3rd Grade Math (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)31.838.3
 6.5%
   3rd Grade Math (Colorado)4140.4
 0.6%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Nisley Elementary School)32.125.4
 6.7%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)4239.6
 2.4%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Colorado)4843.8
 4.2%
4th Grade Math (Nisley Elementary School)12.711.3
 1.4%
   4th Grade Math (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)22.928.4
 5.5%
   4th Grade Math (Colorado)33.632.7
 0.9%
5th Grade Science (Nisley Elementary School)10.99.8
 1.1%
   5th Grade Science (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)2832.1
 4.1%
   5th Grade Science (Colorado)35.933.9
 2%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Nisley Elementary School)24.219.6
 4.6%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)41.146.7
 5.6%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Colorado)48.447.8
 0.6%
5th Grade Math (Nisley Elementary School)6.29.8
 3.6%
   5th Grade Math (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)23.536.4
 12.9%
   5th Grade Math (Colorado)35.736.5
 0.8%
All Grades English Language Arts (Nisley Elementary School)26.123.9
 2.2%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)3639.2
 3.2%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Colorado)45.843.7
 2.1%
All Grades Math (Nisley Elementary School)14.115
 0.9%
   All Grades Math (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)24.429.1
 4.7%
   All Grades Math (Colorado)34.732.9
 1.8%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students457349
 23.6%
African American210
 400%
American Indian24
 100%
Asian10
 100%
Hispanic176133
 24.4%
Pacific Islander30
 100%
White252184
 27%
Two or More Races2118
 14.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients87.1%79.7%
 7.4%


Schools Near Nisley Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Nisley Elementary School

Nisley Elementary School ranks in the bottom 6.8% of Colorado elementary schools.

Students who attend Nisley Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Bookcliff Middle School
High : Central High School

In the 2022-23 school year, 349 students attended Nisley Elementary School.

Students at Nisley Elementary School are 53% White, 38% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 3% African American, 1% American Indian.


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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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