Best Public Schools in Tatum, NM

Summary:

The city of Tatum, New Mexico is home to three schools that serve students from elementary through high school: Tatum Elementary, Tatum High, and Tatum Junior High. These schools, part of the Tatum school district, have shown a range of academic performance, with some standout schools and areas for potential improvement.

Tatum Elementary is a standout, consistently ranking among the top 25% of elementary schools in New Mexico and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school outperforms the state average in both English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency, with particularly strong results in 5th and 6th grade Mathematics. Its relatively low student-teacher ratio of 15.6 may contribute to its academic success. Meanwhile, Tatum Junior High is also a high performer, ranking among the top 25% of middle schools in the state and excelling in English Language Arts, though its Mathematics proficiency is lower than the state average.

The schools in Tatum vary in size, with Tatum Elementary having the largest enrollment at 141 students, followed by Tatum High with 111 students, and Tatum Junior High with 61 students. All three schools have relatively high rates of free/reduced lunch recipients, ranging from 49.55% at Tatum High to 57.45% at Tatum Elementary. The student-teacher ratios also vary, with Tatum High having the lowest at 12.8 students per teacher, Tatum Elementary at 15.6, and Tatum Junior High at 19.5.

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 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 5th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 6th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 7th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
Tatum Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	115 West 3rd St	Tatum	88267	Lea County	Tatum	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 398-4455	128	9	14.2	50.8%	73 (57.0%)	0 (0.0%)	52 (40.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.3%)	79.5	47^th of 345 public elementary schools	86.4%		71.2	92^nd of 413 public elementary schools	77.7%	45		52.9			47.1	52.4			45.0	64.7	66.7		58.3	$11,658
Tatum High	Public	9-12	307 West 3rd Street	Tatum	88267	Lea County	Tatum	No	(n/a)	No	No	(575) 398-4455	129	14	9.1	43.4%	63 (48.8%)	1 (0.8%)	57 (44.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (6.2%)	56.7	44^th of 131 public high schools	66.4%		60	53^rd of 172 public high schools	69.2%	9	40.0			55.2										$15,560
Tatum Junior High	Public	7-8	320 West 3rd Street	Tatum	88267	Lea County	Tatum	No	(n/a)	No	No	(575) 398-4455	53	6	9.0	56.6%	28 (52.8%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (43.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.8%)	73.1	43^rd of 192 public middle schools	77.6%		78.1	12^th of 165 public middle schools	92.7%	31			39.1				63.0	60.9	62.0			40.7	32.0	$14,219

Cities Near Tatum

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Lovington	35.19 mi	10	80^th
Elida	37.59 mi	2
Dora	41.39 mi	2	10^th
Hagerman	43.32 mi	4	48^th
Dexter	43.53 mi	3	79^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.