The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Caliche Elementary School
Caliche Elementary School is a small, regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in the rural town of Iliff, Colorado, about ten miles east of Sterling. It belongs to School District No. Re-1 Valley. The school’s enrollment is small for its grade band, and more than half of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of household economic need. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up roughly a quarter of the enrollment; other racial and ethnic groups are represented in very small numbers. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, a gap that may reflect the school’s reporting practices or small subgroup sizes.
Academically, Caliche Elementary’s most recent state assessment results, from the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, show a mixed picture. In English language arts, about one in three students scored at the proficient or advanced level, while in math, about one in five did. Science results for fifth graders were suppressed by the state, so the school’s rate of proficiency in that subject cannot be stated precisely. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages performance across tested subjects and grades, is below the midpoint relative to the handful of other districts in Logan County. This is a soft spot in the school’s profile, and a parent may want to ask the school about its academic improvement strategies and how it supports students who are not yet at grade level.
What Caliche Elementary can describe as a clear strength is its access to a new district-wide project-based learning program with a strong STEM focus, called SmartLab, which began in the 2024-25 school year and runs from kindergarten through twelfth grade. For a small rural elementary school, this kind of dedicated STEM resource stands out and may appeal to families who value hands-on, technology-oriented learning.
Iliff itself is a very small, agriculturally surrounded town that has seen slight population decline in recent decades. The community is described as a bedroom town where most adults commute to Sterling or to Sidney, Nebraska for work. The town’s historic commercial core has largely disappeared, and there is little street life. There are no major employers within Iliff, and its municipal anchors include a post office, a municipal building, and a historic town pump. The housing market is notably affordable, with typical home values well below both Colorado and national benchmarks, though rent is not as far ahead of mortgage costs as in many markets. A family moving to the area would likely find modest housing costs but limited local employment and few amenities beyond the school itself.
Because Caliche Elementary serves only through sixth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and state testing data is only available for the grades the school actually tests, which is standard for a K-6 building. Disciplinary, attendance, and staffing data were not found in the available records. A parent considering this school will want to learn more about class sizes, teacher stability, and how the school addresses its academic performance gap, but the picture that emerges is of a small, rural elementary school in a quiet, declining farm town, one that has recently invested in STEM programming and serves a community where most families depend on longer commutes for work.
See more original research from School Decision →