Mesa Ridge High School

Summary:

Mesa Ridge High School is a public high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado, serving 1,269 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of School District No. 3, which is ranked 59 out of 116 districts in Colorado and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Mesa Ridge High School has a relatively diverse student population, with 43.81% White, 30.89% Hispanic, and 9.69% African American students. However, the school has struggled academically in recent years, ranking between 160-227 out of 349 Colorado high schools over the past 5 years. Its performance on standardized tests is generally below the state and district averages. The school's percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch has decreased from 39.56% in 2020-2021 to 25.93% in 2022-2023, indicating a lower socioeconomic status compared to nearby schools like Harrison High School (49.87%) and Career Readiness Academy (66.67%). Additionally, Mesa Ridge High School has a relatively high student-teacher ratio of 19.5, higher than the nearby Widefield High School (18.3) and Harrison High School (19.6).

While Mesa Ridge High School's overall academic performance is below average, its African American and Hispanic student subgroups perform relatively better, ranking 11th and 92nd out of Colorado high schools, respectively, in the 2023-2024 school year. This suggests the school may be doing a better job of supporting these underrepresented student populations. However, the school's statewide ranking has steadily declined from 160th in 2020-2021 to 227th in 2023-2024, indicating a concerning trend in academic performance. Additionally, the school's Gifted and Talented student subgroup ranks 79th out of 140 Colorado high schools, suggesting room for improvement in supporting high-achieving students.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 6070 Mesa Ridge Parkway
       Colorado Springs, CO  80911-2568


(719) 391-3600

District: School District No. 3

SchoolDigger Rank:
227th of 349 Colorado High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $13,406 Help


Feeder schools for Mesa Ridge High School:

Elementary:    Sunrise Elementary School
    Talbott STEAM Innovation School
    Webster Elementary School
Middle:    Janitell Junior High School

Student/teacher ratio:  19.5 Help
Number of students:  1,269

Racial breakdown:

White:
43.8%
Hispanic:
30.9%
Two or more races:
10.8%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  25.9% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Mesa Ridge High School ranks worse than 65% of high schools in Colorado. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 33.19. (See more...)
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The Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) measures the percentage of Mesa Ridge High School freshmen who graduate within four years, adjusting for students who transfer in or out.
Help
The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a high 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 Mesa Ridge High School has the largest high school student body size in the School District No. 3.  (See more...)
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Mesa Ridge High School is $13,406, which is the lowest among 3 high schools in the School District No. 3!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Mesa Ridge High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Mesa Ridge High School 227th of 349 Colorado public high schools. (See Mesa Ridge High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Gifted and Talented students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


School District No. 3:

SchoolDigger ranks School District No. 3 59th of 116 Colorado school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Mesa Ridge High School?

Rank History for Mesa Ridge High School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Mesa Ridge High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 36.09 189th 279 32.3%
2005 54.02 137th 280 51.1%
2006 55.30 137th 286 52.1%
2007 55.51 149th 298 50.0%
2008 59.79 136th 301 54.8%
2009 54.41 151st 310 51.3%
2010 48.40 187th 327 42.8%
2011 47.94 191st 337 43.3%
2012 46.50 192nd 334 42.5%
2013 37.02 238th 349 31.8%
2014 47.77 202nd 369 45.3%
2015 26.37 210th 292 28.1%
2016 12.10 233rd 255 8.6%
2017 23.85 183rd 256 28.5%
2018 44.53 202nd 388 47.9%
2019 41.46 222nd 411 46.0%
2021 22.30 160th 210 23.8%
2022 17.95 175th 221 20.8%
2023 32.89 221st 349 36.7%
2024 33.19 227th 349 35.0%
See the entire list of Colorado High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Mesa Ridge High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 12.79 44th 48 8.3%
2022 22.97 46th 56 17.9%
2023 14.39 52nd 62 16.1%
2024 21.40 47th 61 23.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Mesa Ridge High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 48.71 90th 188 52.1%
2022 50.44 97th 203 52.2%
2023 55.98 78th 200 61.0%
2024 59.05 74th 211 64.9%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Mesa Ridge High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 39.49 139th 239 41.8%
2022 42.58 142nd 257 44.7%
2023 37.53 156th 254 38.6%
2024 34.21 162nd 257 37.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Mesa Ridge High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 38.87 88th 118 25.4%
2022 32.22 88th 108 18.5%
2023 45.02 87th 135 35.6%
2024 53.44 79th 140 43.6%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Mesa Ridge High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 31.84 158th 240 34.2%
2022 28.36 171st 253 32.4%
2023 27.59 179th 252 29.0%
2024 35.94 151st 256 41.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Mesa Ridge High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 40.66 18th 29 37.9%
2022 53.37 14th 34 58.8%
2023 50.03 15th 36 58.3%
2024 63.30 11th 38 71.1%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Mesa Ridge High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 52.68 68th 181 62.4%
2022 45.97 91st 205 55.6%
2023 48.60 88th 198 55.6%
2024 47.78 92nd 199 53.8%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Mesa Ridge High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 19.53 178th 225 20.9%
2022 16.46 198th 228 13.2%
2023 16.02 206th 234 12.0%
2024 28.42 165th 229 27.9%
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.

Mesa Ridge 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: 3)
50%

0%

0%

0%

50%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Sunday, August 12, 2012

Open Quote If you need free food, this is the school. If you love to be in a marching band this is the school. If you love to play Baseball this is the school. Like to walk with your dog, this is the school, plenty of dog dudu to walk in. Hate math, this is the school! Need early morning start 6.00am, this is the school. They’ll take you in. no worries, the teachers are your friend. But if you are in school to learn and get somewhere….well, better take a second look! Close Quote


by a parent on FaceBook
Sunday, November 8, 2009

Open Quote This High School is AWESOME. The teachers really connect with the students and it reflects a very safe environment so that the student can focus on their learning ability and grow with self confidence and acheivement goals. We moved our child from another district and it has been a 100% improvement in her life and ours. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Mesa Ridge High School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1998 624 186 41 134 17 n/a n/a 0 1002
1999 786 209 51 161 19 n/a n/a 0 1226
2000 792 210 53 148 25 n/a n/a 0 1228
2001 867 221 60 151 19 n/a n/a 0 1318
2002 797 202 51 137 14 n/a n/a 0 1201
2003 797 202 51 137 14 n/a n/a 0 1201
2004 810 200 42 142 16 n/a n/a 0 1210
2005 785 202 41 147 16 n/a n/a 0 1191
2006 768 206 40 153 18 n/a n/a 0 1185
2007 761 207 44 179 20 n/a n/a 0 1211
2008 745 223 45 199 18 n/a n/a 0 1230
2009 753 219 53 207 23 n/a n/a 0 1255
2010 756 216 60 209 16 n/a n/a 0 1257
2011 757 187 15 246 16 16 56 0 1293
2012 733 161 9 273 20 14 71 0 1281
2013 715 168 9 290 22 19 85 0 1308
2014 692 183 16 321 18 22 78 0 1330
2015 665 167 17 334 13 23 105 0 1324
2016 654 170 22 347 14 17 106 0 1330
2017 618 175 18 358 13 14 104 0 1300
2018 629 149 20 362 11 14 105 0 1290
2019 589 152 23 394 10 16 103 0 1287
2020 619 141 23 396 9 16 121 0 1325
2021 603 127 25 392 12 22 131 0 1312
2022 546 110 26 380 10 27 135 0 1234
2023 556 123 28 392 10 23 137 0 1269

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 Mesa Ridge High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1998 1002 56.0 17.9 0
1999 1226 68.1 18.0 0
2000 1228 68.8 17.8 0
2001 1318 67.5 19.5 0
2002 1201 68.3 17.6 0
2003 1201 68.3 17.6 0
2004 1210 64.3 18.8 1.1
2005 1191 65.6 18.2 0.8
2006 1185 66.7 17.8 7.1
2007 1211 67.8 17.9 0.2
2008 1230 69.6 17.7 0.4
2009 1255 70.6 17.8 0.5
2010 1257 69.0 18.2 34
2011 1293 67.9 19.0 36
2012 1281 66.7 19.1 37.5
2013 1308 66.4 19.6 35.2
2014 1330 66.6 19.9 30
2015 1324 67.0 19.7 38.1
2016 1330 68.0 19.5 44.1
2017 1300 65.1 19.9 37.1
2018 1290 68.2 18.9 35.2
2019 1287 70.5 18.2 35.5
2020 1325 69.6 19.0 35.5
2021 1312 71.7 18.2 39.6
2022 1234 66.7 18.4 34.2
2023 1269 64.8 19.5 25.9

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 Mesa Ridge High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1998 1002 56.0 17.9 0
1999 1226 68.1 18.0 0
2000 1228 68.8 17.8 0
2001 1318 67.5 19.5 0
2002 1201 68.3 17.6 0
2003 1201 68.3 17.6 0
2004 1210 64.3 18.8 1.1
2005 1191 65.6 18.2 0.8
2006 1185 66.7 17.8 7.1
2007 1211 67.8 17.9 0.2
2008 1230 69.6 17.7 0.4
2009 1255 70.6 17.8 0.5
2010 1257 69.0 18.2 34
2011 1293 67.9 19.0 36
2012 1281 66.7 19.1 37.5
2013 1308 66.4 19.6 35.2
2014 1330 66.6 19.9 30
2015 1324 67.0 19.7 38.1
2016 1330 68.0 19.5 44.1
2017 1300 65.1 19.9 37.1
2018 1290 68.2 18.9 35.2
2019 1287 70.5 18.2 35.5
2020 1325 69.6 19.0 35.5
2021 1312 71.7 18.2 39.6
2022 1234 66.7 18.4 34.2
2023 1269 64.8 19.5 25.9

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 Mesa Ridge High School

Help

YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2019 $10,195
2020 $10,420
2021 $11,033
2022 $12,072
2023 $13,406

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Mesa Ridge 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 222nd of 411 High schoolsRanks 221st of 349 High schools
 9.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students12871269
 1.4%
African American152123
 19.1%
American Indian1010
Asian2328
 21.7%
Hispanic394392
 0.5%
Pacific Islander1623
 43.8%
White589556
 5.6%
Two or More Races103137
 33%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients35.5%25.9%
 9.6%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Mesa Ridge High School

Students at Mesa Ridge High School are 44% White, 31% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races, 10% African American, 2% Asian, 2% Pacific Islander.

In the 2022-23 school year, 1,269 students attended Mesa Ridge High School.

Mesa Ridge High School ranks 227th of 349 Colorado high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 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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