What percentage of students in Denver Public Schools are proficient in reading?
Refreshed intermittently
About 33% of 4th graders and 31% of 8th graders were considered proficient in reading in 2024, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, assesses 4th and 8th graders’ progress in reading and math approximately every two years.
33%
of Denver Public Schools 4th graders were proficient in reading in 2024
31%
of Denver Public Schools 8th graders were proficient in reading in 2024
The NAEP uses a scale of 0-500 points to group 4th and 8th students into three achievement levels (basic, proficient, or advanced). "Proficient" is the benchmark used to describe students who demonstrate competency with challenging subject matter. However, NAEP proficiency is not the same as being on "grade level," which is often assessed by other state and district tests. More information on NAEP skill expectations at each grade level is available here.
In 2024, 11% of 4th graders in Denver Public Schools were advanced in reading and 22% were proficient, which means that about 2 out of 3 (67%) scored at basic or below. In 8th grade, 69% scored at basic or below.
In Denver Public Schools, 4th grade reading proficiency scores in 2024 were not significantly different from Colorado overall. 8th grade proficiency was also not significantly different from the Colorado average.
In 2024, the percentage of Denver Public Schools 4th graders at a proficient or advanced reading level was similar to the Colorado average.
Percentage of students at each NAEP achievement level in 4th and 8th grade in 2024 in Denver Public Schools and Colorado
How has reading proficiency changed over time?
From this point onward, “proficiency” includes students who were at or above proficient in reading (proficient and advanced students).
Among 4th graders, reading proficiency in Denver Public Schools was lower than Colorado in 3 test years (2017, 2019, and 2022). In all other test years, there was not a significant difference between Denver Public Schools and Colorado. Among 8th graders, reading proficiency in Denver Public Schools was lower than Colorado in 3 test years (2017, 2019, and 2022). In all other test years, there was not a significant difference between Denver Public Schools and Colorado.
Data are available in Denver Public Schools beginning in 2017.
Denver Public Schools 4th graders had lower reading proficiency than Colorado in 3 out of 4 test years
Percentage of 4th and 8th graders proficient in reading in Denver Public Schools, Colorado, and the US, 2017–2024
Get weekly insights
Subscribe for data-driven insights. No spin, just the facts.
How do Denver Public Schools students compare to other districts in reading proficiency?
The NAEP collected data in 25 other large urban school districts in 2024. Denver Public Schools had 88,258 students enrolled as of the 2023-24 school year, making it the 12th-smallest district in this sample.
Among 4th grade students, Denver Public Schools had the eighth-highest reading proficiency rate compared to other districts. It was 6 percentage points lower in proficiency than San Diego Unified School District, the district with the highest rate (39%).
Among 8th grade students, Denver Public Schools had the third-highest reading proficiency rate compared to other districts. It was 6 percentage points lower in proficiency than San Diego Unified School District, the district with the highest rate (37%).
Denver Public Schools is eighth-highest in 4th grade reading proficiency and third-highest in 8th grade among the 26 districts tested
Percentage of 4th and 8th graders in each district who were proficient in reading in 2024
Why is there data for Denver Public Schools but not all districts?
The NAEP randomly chooses public, private, and charter schools from across the country and in each state and Washington, DC to participate in testing. This random process ensures that the test scores from students in these schools represent how the US and each state are performing as a whole. In addition to national- and state-level reporting, for several years the NAEP has also administered the test to a random sample of schools within 26 of the nation's largest school districts in 2024, of which Denver Public Schools was one.
Keep exploring
Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
