The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in Math. The lowest is 7% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Thomson Elementary School
Thomson Elementary School, a regular public school in Arvada within the Jefferson County School District No. R-1, is listed by the Colorado Department of Education as currently closed. This means that as of the most recent data, Thomson is no longer enrolling students. The school served a grade band that did not include high school, so there is no graduation rate to consider. Its lifecycle status is the central fact a parent needs to know: while this profile provides a record of the school's existencethrough its final year of operation, the building itself is not an active enrollment option.
The last available state testing data comes from the 2022-23 school year, before the closure. On the Colorado Measures of Academic Success assessment, the share of students scoring proficient or above in math was below the state average. In English language arts, the proficiency rate was similarly low. Science results, from the grade-level test administered to a smaller group of students, showed an even lower rate of proficiency. Participation rates on all these tests were high, so the results reflect nearly all students at the school. Given that the school is closed, these academic numbers are historical and do not indicate current performance for a prospective family.
The school was part of the large Jefferson County district, which has gone through several notable changes in recent years, although none apply specifically to a now-closed school. Voters approved a bond measure for capital improvements and safety upgrades in late 2024, the district adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum in 2023 aligned with the science of reading, and there was a failed attempt in 2023 to close more than a dozen schools, including this one, which was reversed after community opposition. The district later formed a committee to study enrollment and capacity and, in a separate election, voters recalled three school board members. These events reflect a district in a period of flux, but for Thomson, the closure decision is already final.
Arvada, where the school was located, is a large, primarily residential city northwest of Denver. It grew rapidly as a post-WWII suburb and is now the seventh most populous city in Colorado. The housing market in the broader area shows a mix of suburban neighborhoods. Olde Town Arvada serves as a walkable historic and civic core with shops, restaurants, and a transit hub connecting to Denver. The city has an extensive network of off-street trails and parks, and its schools are part of the Jefferson County district for this portion of the city.
In summary, Thomson Elementary School is a closed institution. A family looking for an elementary school in this part of Arvada should focus on other schools within the Jefferson County district, and may want to pay attention to the district's ongoing conversations about school capacity and consolidation, as those will affect boundaries and program availability going forward. The assessment data from Thomson's final year showed low proficiency rates in math, reading, and science, consistent with the school's status as one targeted for closure in a district facing enrollment declines.
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