Best High Schools in Aztec, NM

Aztec, New Mexico is home to two public high schools serving grades 9–12, both part of Aztec Municipal Schools: the large Aztec High with 696 students and the much smaller Vista Nueva High with 68, together enrolling 764 students in this Four Corners community. Both schools report 100% free/reduced lunch participation, an important context when comparing them to state averages.

Aztec High is the district's comprehensive high school and by far the larger campus, with about 10.2 times Vista Nueva's enrollment. Its ranking improved sharply, from 111 of 131 (15th percentile, 1 star) in 2024–25 to 76 of 132 (42nd percentile, 2 stars) in 2025–26. In every reported 2025–26 assessment it scored above the district average but below the state average. Mathematics is the clearest weakness, with proficiency in the single digits at 8.39% on NM Combined and 8.70% on SAT School Day, against state rates of 12.72% and 12.53%. Science is closest to the state, only 1.66 points below on NM-ASR. Its 2024–25 graduation rate was 77.1%, above the district's 76.0% but below the state's 80.6%. Reported scores also improved year over year: science NM-ASR rose from 22.92% to 32.61% while the state rate fell, narrowing that gap dramatically.

Vista Nueva High stands out for its small size and lower student-teacher ratio of 13.3 versus 17.7 at Aztec High. However, its 2025–26 school-level test scores are suppressed by the state, so its current proficiency is unknown — not zero, and not evidence of weak performance. Its 2024–25 graduation rate was 64.7%, below both the district and state and 12.4 points below Aztec High, though very small cohorts can swing such rates considerably. Older rankings showed 3 stars and 63rd–65th percentile in 2021–22 and 2022–23, a positive but outdated signal.