D11 High Schools Earn State's Top Rating — and the Watchlist Numbers Are Finally Moving
If you have kids in Colorado Springs School District 11, here's something worth knowing heading into the fall semester: the preliminary school performance framework results for 2025-26 are in, and D11 high schools came out on top. Every single one of them earned the state's highest performance rating.
That's not a small thing. For a district that spent several years fighting to move its schools off the state's accountability watchlist, a sweep at the top tier of the high schools is the kind of data point that changes the conversation about D11.
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Advertise hereWhere D11 Was — and Where It Is Now
Two years ago, more than a third of D11 schools were sitting on the state's watchlist — officially called the accountability clock. These are schools that have struggled on performance metrics long enough to trigger state intervention timelines. Being on the clock isn't just a label; it comes with escalating consequences if performance doesn't improve.
Today, that number has fallen to roughly 10%. The district's stated goal is 100% of its campuses at Performance status — the top tier. The high schools hitting that mark in the preliminary 2025-26 data is a significant signal that the work is moving in the right direction.
The state school performance frameworks aren't simple. They evaluate academic achievement, academic growth, and postsecondary and workforce readiness. Schools can have high test scores but weak growth trajectories, or vice versa. Hitting the highest tier requires strong results across all three dimensions — which makes the high school results more meaningful than a single test metric would be.
Colorado's Statewide Context
D11 isn't alone in improving, but the local gains are notable against the state backdrop. Preliminary 2025-26 data from the Colorado Department of Education shows nearly two-thirds of Colorado schools statewide earned a top rating this year, and the number of schools on the accountability clock decreased. That context matters: D11's turnaround isn't just about external conditions getting better — it's genuine movement by the district.
The Gazette and Chalkbeat both covered the preliminary data release in late August, and the D11 high school results stood out as a marker of district-level progress, not just individual school results.
What This Means for Families
If you're a D11 family, these ratings don't automatically translate to a changed experience at your specific school. Performance frameworks operate at the school level, and the elementary and middle school results across D11 are more mixed — the 10% still-on-watchlist number means there are campuses where more work remains.
But the high school results are meaningful for families who are thinking about their students' paths through D11. And for families who've been watching D11's progress over the past two to three years, the preliminary data is a reason for genuine optimism.
Final 2025-26 school performance ratings will be published by the Colorado Department of Education after the preliminary results are reviewed. Families can track both preliminary and final ratings at cde.state.co.us.
What's Next
The Colorado Department of Education will release final 2025-26 school and district performance framework ratings later this fall. Those final ratings confirm or adjust the preliminary results and are the official record for accreditation and accountability purposes. D11 families who want to follow their specific school's status can check d11.org or cde.state.co.us for both current ratings and historical data. The district's Roadmap to Excellence plan — which outlines the 100% Performance status goal — is also available at d11.org/administration/superintendent/roadmap.
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