The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Springfield School District No. Re-4
Springfield School District No. Re-4 serves the town of Springfield and the surrounding rural area of Baca County in southeastern Colorado. It is a small PK through 12 district, with a single elementary school and a combined junior/senior high school. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population of modest size and smaller shares of students identifying as two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian. The enrollment is small for a district covering all grades, and it is spread fairly evenly across the elementary and middle grades, with a notable drop in the high school years—especially at the upper end, where the senior class is very small.
Academically, state assessment data for the most recent year shows that across grades three through eight, the share of students scoring proficient or above in math was low. In English language arts, proficiency was somewhat higher but still well below a level most families would consider strong. Science results for eighth graders were similarly modest. The district’s performance has been below the midpoint among Baca County’s districts, placing in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. The district has not released high school state testing results or a four-year graduation rate, so a complete picture of academic outcomes for secondary students is not available from the data provided.
The district has been rated “Accredited with Improvement Plan” by the Colorado Department of Education for multiple consecutive years, with performance scores that have declined over that period. This rating signals that the district is not meeting state performance expectations, and families should be aware that this carries implications for the educational quality they can expect. In response, the district has made recent changes under new leadership. The curriculum in math and English language arts has been vertically aligned across grade levels, so that what students learn in elementary school builds directly into what they encounter in junior and senior high. The district has also integrated NWEA and IXL assessment and learning programs into the master schedule, with a stated intention to use them consistently across all schools. These represent structural shifts in how student progress is measured and how personalized instruction is delivered.
Chronic absenteeism is a notable concern. Among Baca County’s districts, Springfield has the highest rate—a bottom-quartile position, meaning a larger share of students are missing enough school to affect learning. This is a soft spot a parent may want to look into further with the district. Per-pupil spending is in the lower range compared to the other districts in the county, though spending alone does not tell the full story of resource allocation.
The district operates two schools: Springfield Elementary, which covers the early and middle elementary grades, and Springfield Junior/Senior High School, which serves grades seven through twelve. Because the district is small, students move through a tightly connected system where teachers across grade levels are now collaborating more, as part of the curriculum alignment effort.
For a family considering this district, the key takeaways are straightforward. The academic performance on state tests is below average for the county and the state, and the district is working under an improvement plan with declining scores. Recent curriculum and assessment changes are intended to address this, but it is too early to know whether they will lift results. The student body is small and generally homogeneous, which some families may prefer and others may not. Chronic absenteeism is high. The district is rural and remote, offering a tight-knit school environment but limited course breadth and extracurricular options that larger districts often provide. A family would want to visit both schools, talk to teachers and the new leadership about the improvement plan, and ask about the specific resources and pathways available at the junior/senior high school, especially for students who are college-bound or seeking career-technical options.
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