Ruidoso Municipal Schools

Ruidoso Municipal Schools is a small New Mexico district serving the Ruidoso area with four schools — two elementary, one middle, and one high school — covering grades PK through 12 and enrolling 1,788 students, nearly all of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch (between 96.3% and 100%). The district as a whole carries a modest rating of 2 stars, ranking 50 of 87 statewide (43rd percentile), but the individual schools have very different profiles worth understanding.

Ruidoso Middle is the academic standout, with ELA scores above both district and state across grades 6–8 and strong 8th grade science. Sierra Vista Primary shows the strongest elementary literacy result in the district at 49.48, though it serves only PK–2 and has no rank history here. White Mountain Elementary has a split profile: its all-grades math (34.94/35.24) beats district and state, and 4th grade math runs roughly 17 percentage points above the state, but its ELA trails both, with 3rd grade ELA at 31.58 versus the state's 44.33/44.72. Ruidoso High graduates 89.3% of students — well above the state's 80.6% — with ELA and science near or above state, yet its 11th grade math of 7.84/7.92 is under 8% proficient, the lowest in the district.

Math is the clearest shared weakness: Ruidoso High's math is far below state, and Ruidoso Middle's all-grades math (22.92/23.26) trails as well, though its 7th grade math is above state. Rank trends are mixed — Ruidoso Middle moved 74th to 66th to 59th percentile (4 stars to 3 stars to 3 stars), Ruidoso High went 48th to 57th to 48th, and White Mountain went 51st to 51st to 44th. Given that nearly every student is economically disadvantaged, the above-state results in middle school ELA and science, upper-elementary math, early literacy, and the high school graduation rate are especially notable.