Thornton High School

Summary:

Thornton High School is a public high school in Thornton, Colorado, serving 1,412 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district, which is ranked 53 out of 116 districts in Colorado and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Thornton High School faces significant challenges compared to other schools in the area. The school has a much higher Hispanic student population (71.25%) than the state and district averages, but its academic performance consistently ranks in the bottom 25% of Colorado high schools, with a 0-1 star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's performance on standardized tests, such as CMAS, PSAT, and SAT, is significantly lower than the district and state averages across all subject areas and grade levels. Additionally, Thornton High School has a high percentage of students (74.01%) who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

In comparison, nearby schools within the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district, such as Northglenn High School, consistently rank higher and perform better on standardized tests. The data suggests that Thornton High School may benefit from targeted interventions and support to address the unique needs of its student population and improve educational outcomes.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 9351 Washington Street
       Thornton, CO  80229-3520


(720) 972-4800

District: Adams 12 Five Star Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
318th of 349 Colorado High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $14,124 Help


Feeder schools for Thornton High School:

Elementary:    Coronado Hills Elementary School
    Leroy Elementary
    McElwain Elementary School
    Riverdale Elementary School
    More...
Middle:    Thornton Middle School

Student/teacher ratio:  17.0 Help
Number of students:  1,416

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
71.9%
White:
15.1%
Asian:
7.4%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  80.7% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Thornton High School ranks worse than 91.1% of high schools in Colorado. It also ranks 5th among 6 ranked high schools in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 9.24. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Thornton 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 Racial makeup is: Hispanic (71.9%), White (15.1%), Asian (7.4%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 80.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Thornton High School is 17, which is the 2nd best among 6 high schools in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Thornton High School employs 83 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Thornton High School is $14,124, which is the 3rd highest among 6 high schools in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Thornton High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Thornton High School 318th of 349 Colorado public high schools. (See Thornton 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:
Asian students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Adams 12 Five Star Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Adams 12 Five Star Schools 53rd of 116 Colorado school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Thornton High School

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Rank History for all students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 24.72 224th 279 19.7%
2005 22.16 228th 280 18.6%
2006 29.87 221st 286 22.7%
2007 27.39 231st 298 22.5%
2008 25.66 233rd 301 22.6%
2009 29.10 230th 310 25.8%
2010 29.47 238th 327 27.2%
2011 27.78 251st 337 25.5%
2012 25.87 249th 334 25.4%
2013 22.01 269th 349 22.9%
2014 18.91 299th 369 19.0%
2015 12.56 268th 292 8.2%
2016 12.39 232nd 255 9.0%
2017 11.23 236th 256 7.8%
2018 15.43 314th 388 19.1%
2019 15.40 335th 411 18.5%
2021 1.20 207th 210 1.4%
2022 1.56 218th 221 1.4%
2023 11.72 308th 349 11.7%
2024 9.24 318th 349 8.9%
See the entire list of Colorado High School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 11.97 31st 32 3.1%
2023 14.03 42nd 44 4.5%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 9.71 77th 77 0.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Special Education Students!

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

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 9.62 181st 188 3.7%
2022 16.05 178th 203 12.3%
2023 13.69 184th 200 8.0%
2024 10.19 200th 211 5.2%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 6.44 228th 239 4.6%
2022 6.74 243rd 257 5.4%
2023 9.32 234th 254 7.9%
2024 8.17 234th 257 8.9%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 8.78 84th 84 0.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 12.09 128th 135 5.2%
2024 17.48 122nd 140 12.9%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 7.29 225th 240 6.3%
2022 11.53 219th 253 13.4%
2023 11.37 224th 252 11.1%
2024 8.22 238th 256 7.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 0.29 44th 45 2.2%
2023 0.39 43rd 43 0.0%
2024 0.86 43rd 43 0.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 10.33 171st 181 5.5%
2022 14.36 181st 205 11.7%
2023 16.24 171st 198 13.6%
2024 12.94 177th 199 11.1%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Thornton High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 3.79 218th 225 3.1%
2022 5.49 219th 228 3.9%
2023 6.14 221st 234 5.6%
2024 3.35 223rd 229 2.6%
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.

Thornton 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 Thornton High School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 1637 35 37 382 25 n/a n/a 0 2116
1989 1129 29 24 291 9 n/a n/a 0 1482
1990 838 24 22 238 13 n/a n/a 0 1135
1991 764 30 16 255 4 n/a n/a 0 1069
1992 730 37 14 238 16 n/a n/a 0 1035
1993 907 48 29 324 17 n/a n/a 0 1325
1994 976 44 26 326 20 n/a n/a 0 1392
1995 1286 50 54 395 30 n/a n/a 0 1815
1996 1286 50 54 395 30 n/a n/a 0 1815
1997 1415 45 61 462 32 n/a n/a 0 2015
1998 1448 45 68 486 29 n/a n/a 0 2076
1999 1513 47 72 523 24 n/a n/a 0 2179
2000 1507 39 92 580 33 n/a n/a 0 2251
2001 1445 58 88 624 27 n/a n/a 0 2242
2002 1362 61 106 784 26 n/a n/a 0 2339
2003 1362 61 106 784 26 n/a n/a 0 2339
2004 1226 78 122 831 25 n/a n/a 0 2282
2005 1127 78 121 928 22 n/a n/a 0 2276
2006 1011 77 135 987 23 n/a n/a 0 2233
2007 838 73 117 994 22 n/a n/a 0 2044
2008 733 61 123 1050 23 n/a n/a 0 1990
2009 602 61 120 975 22 n/a n/a 0 1780
2010 560 61 125 980 9 n/a n/a 0 1735
2011 711 18 19 1003 3 1 7 0 1762
2012 541 55 132 956 12 2 15 0 1713
2013 528 64 107 1006 13 1 24 0 1743
2014 502 62 104 1059 22 2 23 0 1774
2015 483 60 101 1091 21 3 19 0 1778
2016 432 66 82 1116 14 2 17 0 1729
2017 423 66 82 1124 20 2 17 0 1734
2018 362 64 69 1168 19 2 22 0 1706
2019 348 64 72 1179 18 1 23 0 1705
2020 318 61 77 1115 16 1 20 0 1608
2021 294 41 59 1099 14 1 36 0 1544
2022 269 35 63 1068 14 1 35 0 1485
2023 239 26 87 1006 15 3 36 0 1412
2024 214 31 105 1018 12 2 33 1 1416

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 Thornton High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 2116 102.0 20.7 n/a
1989 1482 82.4 17.9 3.8
1990 1135 60.4 18.7 5.6
1991 1069 61.8 17.2 0
1992 1035 59.6 17.3 n/a
1993 1325 63.7 20.8 0
1994 1392 63.3 22.0 0
1995 1815 82.0 22.1 0
1996 1815 82.0 22.1 0
1997 2015 92.8 21.7 5.9
1998 2076 83.1 25.0 8.1
1999 2179 107.5 20.3 8.9
2000 2251 107.2 21.0 12.3
2001 2242 105.7 21.2 19
2002 2339 115.9 20.2 22.8
2003 2339 115.9 20.2 22.8
2004 2282 119.6 19.1 27.7
2005 2276 115.1 19.8 24.8
2006 2233 116.9 19.1 36.2
2007 2044 115.0 17.8 33.6
2008 1990 115.2 17.3 32.9
2009 1780 103.7 17.2 23
2010 1735 97.4 17.8 31.5
2011 1762 95.7 18.4 37.9
2012 1713 92.0 18.6 41.6
2013 1743 78.3 22.2 49.7
2014 1774 88.2 20.0 56.4
2015 1778 88.0 20.2 52.6
2016 1729 90.0 19.2 40.5
2017 1734 88.2 19.6 40.3
2018 1706 88.9 19.1 39.9
2019 1705 90.2 18.8 38.4
2020 1608 89.6 17.9 60.8
2021 1544 83.6 18.4 68.5
2022 1485 74.1 20.0 65.6
2023 1412 74.5 18.9 74
2024 1416 83.0 17.0 80.7

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 Thornton High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 2116 102.0 20.7 n/a
1989 1482 82.4 17.9 3.8
1990 1135 60.4 18.7 5.6
1991 1069 61.8 17.2 0
1992 1035 59.6 17.3 n/a
1993 1325 63.7 20.8 0
1994 1392 63.3 22.0 0
1995 1815 82.0 22.1 0
1996 1815 82.0 22.1 0
1997 2015 92.8 21.7 5.9
1998 2076 83.1 25.0 8.1
1999 2179 107.5 20.3 8.9
2000 2251 107.2 21.0 12.3
2001 2242 105.7 21.2 19
2002 2339 115.9 20.2 22.8
2003 2339 115.9 20.2 22.8
2004 2282 119.6 19.1 27.7
2005 2276 115.1 19.8 24.8
2006 2233 116.9 19.1 36.2
2007 2044 115.0 17.8 33.6
2008 1990 115.2 17.3 32.9
2009 1780 103.7 17.2 23
2010 1735 97.4 17.8 31.5
2011 1762 95.7 18.4 37.9
2012 1713 92.0 18.6 41.6
2013 1743 78.3 22.2 49.7
2014 1774 88.2 20.0 56.4
2015 1778 88.0 20.2 52.6
2016 1729 90.0 19.2 40.5
2017 1734 88.2 19.6 40.3
2018 1706 88.9 19.1 39.9
2019 1705 90.2 18.8 38.4
2020 1608 89.6 17.9 60.8
2021 1544 83.6 18.4 68.5
2022 1485 74.1 20.0 65.6
2023 1412 74.5 18.9 74
2024 1416 83.0 17.0 80.7

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 Thornton High School

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2019 $10,543
2020 $11,671
2021 $12,587
2022 $13,520
2023 $14,124

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Thornton 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 335th of 411 High schoolsRanks 308th of 349 High schools
 6.7%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students17051412
 17.2%
African American6426
 59.4%
American Indian1815
 16.7%
Asian7287
 20.8%
Hispanic11791006
 14.7%
Pacific Islander13
 200%
White348239
 31.3%
Two or More Races2336
 56.5%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients38.4%74%
 35.6%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Thornton High School

Thornton High School ranks in the bottom 8.9% of Colorado high schools.

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,416 students attended Thornton High School.

Students at Thornton High School are 72% Hispanic, 15% White, 7% Asian, 2% Two or more races, 2% African American.


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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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