Colorado has been named the top state for education by U.S. News & World Report, despite more than half of students in fourth and eighth grades — critical testing years — falling short of reading proficiently and meeting academic standards in math.
Gov. Jared Polis announced the state’s first-place ranking — up from third place last year — during a media conference Tuesday at Denver’s Farrell B. Howell K-8 School, which received the Governor’s Bright Spot Award alongside other schools for improving student achievement.
U.S. News & World Report, a digital media company that ranks everything from schools to vehicles to hotels and travel destinations, named Colorado the No. 1 education state by analyzing a range of metrics spanning preschool, K-12 and higher education.
Polis celebrated the title while also acknowledging that Colorado still has significant strides to make to improve student learning and prepare students for college or a career after high school.
He briefly raised concerns over Colorado students lagging in literacy, with broader worries that the U.S. education system as a whole has dropped behind other countries.
“Being No. 1 in a country that underperforms many other wealthy, industrialized countries is a low bar,” Polis said. “It’s certainly better than being No. 3 or, God forbid, No. 49 or 50, but I think it shows that we need to redouble our efforts to really invest in what works, support student learning, provide different options for students that work to help not just rest on the laurels.”
“That’s not good enough in the global economy, and it’s not good enough for the children that aren’t getting what they need to succeed,” he added.
The rankings for preschool and K-12 education included enrollment in preschool and an assessment of the percentage of high school students in the class of 2024 whose test results from the SAT, ACT or both, landed them in the 75th percentile.
The publication also incorporated four-year high school graduation rates for public schools and eighth graders’ performance in reading and math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That test, often called “The Nation’s Report Card,” measures how well fourth and eighth graders are doing in reading and math every two years and measures 12th graders and students in those grades in other subjects less frequently.
Colorado has jumped ahead of other states with enrollment in preschool. The state launched an expanded preschool program, referred to as universal preschool, in 2023, providing up to 15 hours of subsidized preschool for all children in the year before they start kindergarten and more hours for kids with additional needs. More than 45,000 4-year-olds participated in the state’s preschool program this past school year, according to data from the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.
And Colorado’s four-year high school graduation rate has continued to improve, rising to 85.6% for the class of 2025, up from 84.2% for the class of 2024.
But many students continue to struggle in core subjects like reading and math. Colorado eighth graders largely outperformed other states in reading and math on the 2024 NAEP assessment. The average score for Colorado students was higher than the average score for students across the country in both subjects, according to test data.
Still, most Colorado eighth graders are behind where they should be in their reading and math skills. NAEP results showed that 35% of Colorado students met or exceeded proficiency in reading while 32% met or exceeded proficiency in math.
Despite those results, Colorado has made progress in several areas of education, and Polis credits six improvements for the national recognition. He highlighted Colorado’s push to expand early childhood education, including offering families free full-day kindergarten and free hours for preschool.
Polis also noted that Colorado now funds schools to the level required by the state constitution after years of schools losing out on funding because of the budget stabilization factor, a Great Recession-era mechanism that allowed the legislature to give schools less money than what they were owed under the constitution. (Even with the funding fix, however, Colorado still underfunds its schools by $3.5 billion to $4.1 billion.)
Additionally, Polis cited Colorado’s focus on school choice, investments in summer and after-school programs, the state’s childcare contribution tax credit, and Colorado’s focus on using data to understand student performance.
“Our goal is to keep competing and stay ahead of the curve,” Polis said. “We built the country’s strongest education by running through the red tape, cutting red tape, moving full speed ahead, saving families money, providing more options both inside the schools and outside the school hours and for career, workforce and higher education training. The ultimate test is how every Coloradan can truly level up their skills, earn a good living and pay that opportunity forward.”
Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said Colorado’s new standing in education is a reflection of the hard work of educators across the state. However, schools still have a long runway for improvement.
Córdova said making more academic gains will require the state to continue investing in early childhood programs, tending to literacy through the Colorado Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act, or READ Act, and finding ways to boost attendance when many students regularly miss school.
“We still have a long way to go to ensure that every student has the strong foundation that they need to be successful,” she said. “Our kids who are not yet at grade level, they can read. We need to do more to help them get over that bar.”
It’s important to understand that getting students over that bar will take time, said Michael Gaal, superintendent of Colorado Springs School District 11.
He believes Colorado has created the right conditions that will give students a shot at thriving.
But it will take several years before schools see any potential payoff in student performance, Gaal said.
“The state is No. 1, not because everybody has figured out how to succeed,” he said, “but the conditions are in place for everyone to be able to deliver success for students.”