The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in English language arts. The lowest is 68% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Mcauliffe International School
McAuliffe International School, a regular public school in Denver serving grades six through eight, belongs to Denver Public Schools, the city’s single school district. It is a large middle school, with an enrollment that fills a substantial building for its grade band. The student body is majority white, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and Black students, and a modest share of multiracial and Asian students. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that positions the school as more economically mixed than many city schools but still serving a noticeable number of lower-income families. Data on special education and English learner populations was not available; a parent may want to ask the school directly about the services in those areas.
Academically, McAuliffe posts strong results on state assessments. In both math and English language arts, the school’s all-students proficiency rate on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success is comfortably above the midpoint when compared with other schools in Denver County, and in fact sits in the top quarter of that comparison group. Proficiency in science at the eighth-grade level is also high, though slightly below the school’s own math and ELA marks. The school has a large enrollment, and the test participation rate is high, so the reported results reflect nearly all students. For a middle school, this is a notably strong academic signal, and the overall proficiency index places McAuliffe among the higher-performing schools in Denver County. Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report.
The school is not a charter school and does not have a magnet designation, though it operates within a district that has a unified enrollment system for school choice, meaning families apply to McAuliffe as part of Denver Public Schools’ school selection process. The district itself is undergoing several changes that affect the school’s context. Voters approved a large bond measure in 2024 for facility improvements and new construction, the largest in district history, so the school’s physical plant and technology may see upgrades over time. The district has also shifted to a new literacy curriculum based on the science of reading in elementary grades, which will affect the students who arrive at McAuliffe. A 2022 mill levy override boosted teacher pay and mental health services, which may influence staffing and student support at the school.
Denver is a major city and state capital, with a dense downtown core, a large university presence, and a diversified economy anchored by telecommunications, aerospace, software, and health care. It has an extensive system of parks, a notable cultural complex, and a growing population that has filled the Front Range corridor with suburban communities. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code are above the Colorado state median, and rents are also relatively high, consistent with a desirable urban area. The city’s size and variety mean that the neighborhoods feeding into McAuliffe vary, and a family’s experience of the school may depend on which part of Denver they live in and how they navigate the district’s unified enrollment process.
For a family considering this school, the picture is clear. McAuliffe is a large, academically strong middle school in a district with active initiatives around curriculum, facilities, and enrollment. The student body is diverse economically but predominantly white, and the school sits in an expensive housing market. A parent who values a high-proficiency middle school with a large peer group and is comfortable navigating Denver’s school choice system would find this a strong fit. A family concerned about the school’s special education or English learner offerings, or about the peer composition, should seek more detail from the school or the district directly.
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