Capitan

Summary:

The Capitan school district in New Mexico consists of three schools: Capitan Elementary, Capitan High, and Capitan Middle. The district serves a predominantly low-income community, with high free/reduced lunch rates across the schools.

Capitan Elementary stands out as the highest-performing school in the district, consistently ranking in the top 25% of New Mexico elementary schools. The school boasts strong test scores, exceeding the state average in both English Language Arts and Mathematics across all grade levels, with particularly impressive performance in 5th grade. Despite serving a high-need student population, Capitan Elementary has been effective in supporting student learning.

In contrast, Capitan High has seen some fluctuations in its performance, with a drop in its statewide ranking from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025. However, the school's science proficiency rates remain a bright spot, with 55.17% of 11th graders proficient or better, compared to the state average of 41.69%. Additionally, Capitan High has a lower free/reduced lunch rate than the other schools, suggesting a more diverse student body. Continued monitoring of key metrics, such as test scores and graduation rates, will be important to ensure all students in the Capitan school district are receiving a high-quality education.

District Detail

519 Smokey Bear Blvd
Capitan, NM 88316

(575) 354-8500

SchoolDigger Rank:
29^th of 82 New Mexico districts

See the 2025 New Mexico District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 443

Primary Schools: 1
Middle Schools: 1
High Schools: 1
Alternative Schools: 0

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 8th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
Capitan Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	150 South Forest Ave	Capitan	88316	Lincoln County	Capitan	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 354-2239	207	18	11.6	33.3%	123 (59.4%)	2 (1.0%)	75 (36.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.9%)	67.8	79^th of 345 public elementary schools	77.1%		76.5	74^th of 413 public elementary schools	82.1%	5		46.4			47.8	57.6	64.3				57.1	43.5	39.4	25.0				35.7	$11,595
Capitan High	Public	9-12	519 Smokey Bear Blvd	Capitan	88316	Lincoln County	Capitan	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 354-2239	134	16	8.2	28.4%	87 (64.9%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (29.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (5.2%)	51.5	50^th of 131 public high schools	61.8%		84.5	22^nd of 172 public high schools	87.2%	28	34.5			55.2															$12,874
Capitan Middle	Public	6-8	519 Smokey Bear Blvd	Capitan	88316	Lincoln County	Capitan	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 354-2239	102	8	12.3	30.4%	62 (60.8%)	1 (1.0%)	31 (30.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	1 (1.0%)	6 (5.9%)	54.3	66^th of 192 public middle schools	65.6%		64.6	28^th of 165 public middle schools	83.0%	38			43.2					57.1	58.6	43.2	52.1				35.7	31.0	18.9	27.7	$11,085

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Juvenile Justice	4.73 mi	4
Ruidoso	13.59 mi	4	39^th
Carrizozo	18.49 mi	3
Hondo Valley	21.91 mi	2
Mescalero Apache School	23.93 mi	1

See the top NM New Mexico districts

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.