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1 / 25#25. Colorado Early Colleges Colorado Springs
- School type: Public School
- Location: Colorado Charter School Institute, CO
- Enrollment: 642 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Best high schools in the Colorado Springs metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Colorado Springs metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Colorado Military Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Colorado Charter School Institute, CO
- Enrollment: 807 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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3 / 25#23. Colorado Springs Christian
- School type: Private School
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
- Enrollment: 744 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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4 / 25#22. Evangel Christian Academy - Secondary Campus
- School type: Private School
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
- Enrollment: 269 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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5 / 25#21. Coronado High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Colorado Springs School District No. 11, CO
- Enrollment: 1,305 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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6 / 25#20. Liberty High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Academy School District No. 20, CO
- Enrollment: 1,647 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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7 / 25#19. Pikes Peak Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
- Enrollment: 383 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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8 / 25#18. James Irwin Charter High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Harrison School District No. 2, CO
- Enrollment: 403 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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9 / 25#17. Banning Lewis Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: District 49, CO
- Enrollment: 1,600 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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10 / 25#16. Manitou Springs High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Manitou Springs School District, CO
- Enrollment: 381 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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11 / 25#15. Rampart High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Academy School District No. 20, CO
- Enrollment: 1,454 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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12 / 25#14. Thomas MacLaren School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Colorado Charter School Institute, CO
- Enrollment: 984 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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13 / 25#13. Discover Canyon Campus High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Academy School District No. 20, CO
- Enrollment: 1,087 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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14 / 25#12. Lewis-Palmer High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Lewis-Palmer School District 38, CO
- Enrollment: 1,181 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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15 / 25#11. Village High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Academy School District No. 20, CO
- Enrollment: 447 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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16 / 25#10. St. Mary's High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
- Enrollment: 219 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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17 / 25#9. Air Academy High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Academy School District No. 20, CO
- Enrollment: 1,329 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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18 / 25#8. Palmer Ridge High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Lewis-Palmer School District 38, CO
- Enrollment: 1,094 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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19 / 25#7. Pine Creek High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Academy School District No. 20, CO
- Enrollment: 1,815 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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20 / 25#6. Odyssey Early College and Career Options
- School type: Public School
- Location: Colorado Springs School District No. 11, CO
- Enrollment: 316 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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21 / 25#5. Classical Academy High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Academy School District No. 20, CO
- Enrollment: 547 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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22 / 25#4. The Vanguard School Senior High
- School type: Public School
- Location: Harrison School District No. 2, CO
- Enrollment: 321 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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23 / 25#3. Cheyenne Mountain High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Cheyenne Mountain School District No. 12, CO
- Enrollment: 1,241 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. The Colorado Springs School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
- Enrollment: 317 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. Fountain Valley School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
- Enrollment: 230 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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