Summary:
Jal Public Schools in New Mexico is a small district of three schools — one elementary, one junior high, and one high school — serving prekindergarten through 12th grade with 567 students total, and ranked 78th of 87 districts statewide (10th percentile, 1 star).
The clear standout is Jal Junior High, which earned 3 stars and ranked 92nd of 191 schools (52nd percentile) in 2025–2026, up from the 26th percentile two years earlier. Its all-grades ELA (49.06%) and 8th grade science (37.14%) beat both district and state averages, though its math is a serious weakness at 17.92%, below district and state. Jal Elementary, the largest school with 290 students, holds 1 star and ranked in the 23rd percentile, down from 37 the prior year; its math (21.88%) is above the district but below state, and its ELA trails both. Jal High is the most volatile — 8th percentile, then 59th, then 9th percentile in 2025–2026 with 0 stars — and its 2025–2026 ELA, science, and math results are well below state.
Two patterns matter most for families. First, math is the district-wide weak spot: every school falls below the state in math where a direct comparison is possible, and Jal High's math is reported as under 20% in several measures. Second, poverty context is significant — free/reduced lunch is 99.66% at Jal Elementary and 100% at Jal Junior High, while Jal High's figure is not reported. Jal High's 2023–2024 graduation rate of 86.9% is relatively strong and worth watching against its current test scores. Because these schools are small, grade cohorts are small too, so percentages and rankings can swing widely from year to year; conclusions should be drawn cautiously.
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