Best Public Schools in Dexter, NM

Summary:

The city of Dexter, New Mexico is home to three schools: Dexter Elementary, Dexter High, and Dexter Middle. These schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and are part of the Dexter school district, which is ranked 71st out of 82 districts in New Mexico and rated 1 star out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Among the three schools, Dexter Elementary has seen a decline in its statewide ranking, dropping from 180th out of 435 New Mexico elementary schools in 2022-2023 to 260th out of 345 in 2024-2025. Its performance on state assessments is also below the state average, with only 32% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 23.33% in Mathematics for all grades in 2024-2025. In contrast, Dexter High has maintained a relatively stable statewide ranking, though it is still in the bottom half of New Mexico high schools. Its 2024-2025 ranking of 73rd out of 131 high schools is an improvement from the previous year's 63rd out of 172 ranking, but its four-year graduation rate of 78% is lower than the state average.

Dexter Middle has seen fluctuations in its statewide ranking, dropping from 83rd out of 165 New Mexico middle schools in 2023-2024 to 143rd out of 192 in 2024-2025. Its performance on state assessments is also below the state average, with only 39.29% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 14.29% in Mathematics for all grades in 2024-2025. Across all three schools, the high rates of free and reduced lunch recipients, ranging from 99.44% to 100%, suggest that the community faces significant socioeconomic challenges, which may be contributing to the academic struggles of the students.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SAT School Day English Language Arts (2025)	NM-ASR Science (2025)			NM-MSSA English Language Arts (2025)							NM-MSSA Mathematics (2025)						Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SAT School Day English Language Arts 11th Grade	NM-ASR Science 5th Grade	NM-ASR Science 8th Grade	NM-ASR Science 11th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 6th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 7th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 8th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts All Grades	NM-MSSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 4th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 5th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 6th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 7th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
Dexter Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	400 West 1st	Dexter	88230	Chaves County	Dexter	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 734-5420	330	22	15.2	100.0%	49 (14.8%)	0 (0.0%)	280 (84.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25.2	260^th of 345 public elementary schools	24.6%		30.7	270^th of 413 public elementary schools	34.6%	10		21.4			31.0	30.0	35.7				32.0	12.1	20.0	42.9			23.3	$11,105
Dexter High	Public	9-12	100 North Lincoln	Dexter	88230	Chaves County	Dexter	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 734-5420	264	17	15.5	100.0%	33 (12.5%)	0 (0.0%)	230 (87.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	34.1	73^rd of 131 public high schools	44.3%		53.2	63^rd of 172 public high schools	63.4%	10	33.3			40.0														$10,996
Dexter Middle	Public	6-8	100 North Lincoln	Dexter	88230	Chaves County	Dexter	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 734-5420	178	14	12.9	100.0%	25 (14.0%)	0 (0.0%)	153 (86.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25	143^rd of 192 public middle schools	25.5%		36.7	83^rd of 165 public middle schools	49.7%	60			13.6					44.2	40.4	33.9	39.3				15.4	22.8	14.3	$10,020

Cities Near Dexter

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Roswell	7.75 mi	23	46^th
Hagerman	8.85 mi	4	48^th
Lake Arthur	16.1 mi	3
Artesia	25.87 mi	9	26^th

See the top NM New Mexico cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the New Mexico Public Education Department.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.