The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in English language arts. The lowest is 35% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Taylor Elementary School
Taylor Elementary School serves students from preschool through fifth grade as a regular public school in Colorado Springs School District 11. The school sits within a large, sprawling city whose economy is dominated by military installations, aerospace and defense contractors, and tourism. The neighborhood around the school is part of a broad residential area within a car-dependent city where walkable nodes are limited.
Academically, the school posted a proficiency index that places it in the top quartile relative to districts in El Paso County. This means that overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades ranks among the stronger performers in the county, though the measure is a composite and not a guarantee for every student. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was below half; in English language arts, it was closer to half. Fifth-grade science results were suppressed, so no public data is available for that subject. The school participated in the Colorado Measures of Academic Success tests at high rates, with nearly every enrolled student taking the assessments.
The student body is relatively small for a K-5 building, and a substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is majority white, with a notable Hispanic presence and smaller shares of students who identify as two or more races, Black, or other groups. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the data we examined, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are served.
Because this is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to consider. Program offerings were not listed in the available information, though District 11 has publicly reported recent initiatives: it raised starting teacher salaries, reduced the number of low-performing schools on improvement status, and launched the D11 Promise Scholarship that lets high school students take college courses free with Pikes Peak State College. Those district-level changes may shape the long-term quality of instruction and feeder patterns, even for an elementary school.
Families considering Taylor Elementary should weigh its above-average county performance against its modest overall proficiency numbers. The school appears to serve a diverse, lower-income community within a growing city. The housing market in the area has seen slight softening in home values relative to the prior year, and rents have edged up a little, consistent with broader national trends. The school’s size means each grade is small, which can offer more individualized attention. Missing data on special education and English learner support, and on programs like gifted or enrichment offerings, means a parent should visit and ask about these details directly. The school’s strong participation in state testing and its cohort-topping performance composite are signs of consistent instruction, but the math and ELA proficiency rates leave room for growth.
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