Washington Middle

Washington Middle is a small school of 248 students serving grades 6–8 at 1101 Park SW, just south of downtown Albuquerque, in the Albuquerque Public Schools district. It is the smallest middle school in its immediate comparison group, which means its year-to-year percentages can swing more than at larger schools, and nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.

On state rankings, Washington has sat in the bottom fifth of New Mexico middle schools for a decade without ever climbing out. In 2025–2026 it ranked 174th of 191 schools — the 9th percentile, with zero stars. That year, 25.82% of students were proficient in language arts (district and state: about 43%), 9.3% in math (district 25.74%, state 25.54%), and 15.85% in 8th-grade science. Math is the deepest concern: roughly nine in ten students are below standard, 6th-grade math is under 10%, and 7th- and 8th-grade math sit barely above that. Reading is comparatively stronger, though it still trails district and state by about 18 points.

The most useful local comparison is Jefferson Middle, about 2.8 miles away, where 50.47% of students are proficient in language arts and 34.38% in math while serving an almost identical student population — evidence that what happens inside a school can matter enormously. Washington is not alone, though: most nearby APS middle schools also rank in the state's bottom fifth. Inside the building, the clearest opportunity is 6th grade, where reading proficiency (14.93%) is roughly half the 7th- and 8th-grade levels. English language learners, meanwhile, perform at about the state middle (46th percentile), well above the school's overall standing.