Enrollment
1,966
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 080690001491
Horizon High School — Brighton, CO
Federal NCES profile for Horizon High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 17
📚 AP courses 85
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 44
📋 Attendance 28
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Adams 12 Five Star Schools · Colorado
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
98.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.7:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
17.7%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Horizon High School compares with Colorado and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Horizon High School reports 1,966 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 98.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% above the Colorado state mean of 16.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 30% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 17.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 54% below the Colorado average and 66% below the national baseline. The school offers 17 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 281 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Adams 12 Five Star Schools spends $14,916 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 45.4% from local sources (property taxes), 44.8% from the state, and 9.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Horizon High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Colorado state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Colorado | Colorado avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.7:1 | ▲ 22% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 17.7% | ▼ 54% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,966 | top 99% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
17.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 54% below the Colorado average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.7:1
students per teacher
— 22% above state mean
Top 91% in Colorado — lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
29.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,916
per pupil, district-wide
— below Colorado avg of $20,949
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 281 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
41
in-school suspensions + 144 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 1,966 Top 99% in Colorado — larger than 1% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 98.0
Students per teacher 20.7:1 +22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 17.7% -54% vs state
NCES ID 080690001491
Student demographics
White 53.0%
Hispanic or Latino 35.2%
Two or More 5.2%
Asian 4.9%
African American 1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 53.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 17
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 7.0
Students per counselor 281:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.0%
In-school suspensions 41
Out-of-school suspensions 144
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Adams 12 Five Star Schools, which includes Horizon High School.
$14,916
Per student
-29%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 45.4%
State 44.8%
Federal 9.8%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,052
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,844
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,788
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 1,572
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,478
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
Similar high schools in Brighton
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Horizon High School
How many students attend Horizon High School?
Horizon High School has 1,966 students enrolled. It is a high school in BRIGHTON, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Horizon High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Horizon High School is 20.7:1, which is 22% higher than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 30% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Horizon High School?
17.7% of students at Horizon High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Horizon High School?
The largest demographic group at Horizon High School is White at 53.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in BRIGHTON, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Horizon High School?
Horizon High School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.