The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in Math. The lowest is 22% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Caliche Junior-senior High School
Caliche Junior-Senior High School is a regular public school serving grades seven through twelve in Iliff, a small rural town in Logan County on Colorado’s eastern plains. The school is part of School District No. Re-1 Valley. With a small total enrollment across the six grade levels, it is a place where students in the same building stay together from middle school through senior year.
The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up the largest other group, and a very small number of students identifying as two or more races. More than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of economic need that is common in rural communities in this part of the state. No data was available on the share of students receiving special education services or English learner support, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those programs.
On state assessments administered in grades seven and eight, about a quarter of students scored proficient or above in math, and about a fifth did so in English language arts. These proficiency rates place the school’s overall academic performance below the midpoint among districts in Logan County. Science results for eighth graders were suppressed in the publicly reported data, which often happens when the number of test-takers is small enough to risk identifying individual students. A parent interested in science outcomes should ask the school for context. The school does serve grades eleven and twelve, but no four-year graduation rate was available in the data; the reason for the gap is not stated, though small cohort sizes can sometimes limit reporting.
Iliff itself is a very small statutory town that peaked in population decades ago and has since been in a slow decline. It functions as a bedroom community; most adults commute roughly ten miles west to Sterling or across the state line to Sidney, Nebraska for work. The surrounding economy is agricultural—farms and ranches dot the landscape—and the town's historic commercial core has mostly closed. The South Platte River runs through town, and a few historic structures remain, including a church and a town pump. There is no public transit, no library identified in available sources, and street life is minimal. Housing values in the area are below the state average, and the County market is less expensive than Colorado’s front-range metro areas.
Within the district, a curriculum change began with the 2024-25 school year: every school added a SmartLab, a project-based learning program with a strong focus on STEM. That means Caliche Junior-Senior High School now has a dedicated lab space and curriculum designed to integrate science, technology, engineering, and math across grade levels. This is a notable program addition for a small rural school.
For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a very small, close-knit rural setting where students move through junior high and high school together. The academic proficiency numbers are a soft spot, and a parent would want to understand how the school supports students who are not yet at grade level in math and reading, and whether the new SmartLab program extends into those core subjects. The lack of a reported graduation rate is another gap worth checking directly with the school or district. The broader community offers limited local employment and amenities, with most daily needs met in Sterling. Families who value a tight, multi-grade school in an agricultural town with a recent STEM program investment may find this a good fit; those seeking higher measured academic performance or a wider range of course options will want to look into how the school addresses those areas with its staff and resources.
See more original research from School Decision →