Enrollment
1,784
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 080258006738
Riverdale Ridge High School — Thornton, CO
Federal NCES profile for Riverdale Ridge High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 32/100.
👥 Class size 2
📚 AP courses 60
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 26
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: School District 27j · 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)
60.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.4:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
+44% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
20.5%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-47% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Riverdale Ridge 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
Riverdale Ridge High School reports 1,784 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 60.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 44% 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 53% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 20.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 47% below the Colorado average and 60% below the national baseline. The school offers 12 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 1784 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding School District 27j spends $13,426 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 44.5% from local sources (property taxes), 47.7% from the state, and 7.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (F), 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 Riverdale Ridge 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 | 24.4:1 | ▲ 44% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 20.5% | ▼ 47% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,784 | top 98% | — | — |
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
20.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 47% 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
24.4:1
students per teacher
— 44% above state mean
Top 96% in Colorado — lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
29.5%
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
$13,426
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 1784 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
97
in-school suspensions + 77 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,784 Top 98% in Colorado — larger than 2% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 60.0
Students per teacher 24.4:1 +44% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 20.5% -47% vs state
NCES ID 080258006738
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 44.5%
White 42.4%
Asian 5.9%
Two or More 4.9%
African American 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 44.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 12
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 1784:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.5%
In-school suspensions 97
Out-of-school suspensions 77
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for School District 27j, which includes Riverdale Ridge High School.
$13,426
Per student
-36%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 44.5%
State 47.7%
Federal 7.8%
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
- 2,042
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,809
- Students per teacher
- 24.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,733
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,214
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Enrollment
- 855
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
Similar high schools in Thornton
5 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Thornton High School
Standard public school
1,439 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Academy High School
Standard public school
399 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Mapleton Early Career Preparation
Standard public school
306 students 19.9:1 students per teacher
New America School - Thornton
Alternative education program
190 students 34.3:1 students per teacher
North Valley School for Young Adults
Alternative education program
102 students 20.8:1 students per teacher
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 Riverdale Ridge High School
How many students attend Riverdale Ridge High School?
Riverdale Ridge High School has 1,784 students enrolled. It is a high school in THORNTON, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Riverdale Ridge High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Riverdale Ridge High School is 24.4:1, which is 44% higher than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 53% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Riverdale Ridge High School?
20.5% of students at Riverdale Ridge High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Riverdale Ridge High School?
The largest demographic group at Riverdale Ridge High School is Hispanic or Latino at 44.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in THORNTON, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Riverdale Ridge High School?
Riverdale Ridge High School has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (F) 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.