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Desert Ridge Middle

Q: Is Desert Ridge Middle a good school?

Yes. Desert Ridge Middle ranks in the top 7.3% of New Mexico middle schools.

Q: How many students attend Desert Ridge Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 801 students attended Desert Ridge Middle.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Desert Ridge Middle?

Students at Desert Ridge Middle are 39% White, 37% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 8% Two or more races, 3% American Indian, 2% African American.

Q: What high school do graduates of Desert Ridge Middle attend?

Students who attend Desert Ridge Middle usually go on to attend La Cueva High

Public Grades 6-8

14^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 192 New Mexico Middle Schools

Better than 93% of New Mexico middle schools

Summary

Desert Ridge Middle is a highly-ranked public middle school located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, serving 788 students in grades 6-8 and part of the Albuquerque Public School District. This school has consistently been one of the top-performing middle schools in the state, ranking within the top 10-15 schools for the past several years.

Desert Ridge Middle significantly outperforms the Albuquerque and New Mexico state averages in both English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency across all grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, 69.45% of all students at Desert Ridge Middle were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 43.65% in Albuquerque and 44.19% statewide. In Mathematics, 59.79% of Desert Ridge students were proficient or better, compared to 26.48% in Albuquerque and 26.81% statewide. The school also excels in the performance of various student subgroups, ranking within the top 10 in the state across multiple categories.

While Desert Ridge Middle is a standout performer, the nearby middle schools in the Albuquerque Public School District generally struggle in comparison. Schools like Taft Middle, Jackson Middle, Grant Middle, and McKinley Middle all have significantly lower academic proficiency rates in both ELA and Mathematics, as well as lower overall SchoolDigger ratings. Despite these differences, Desert Ridge Middle has maintained its exceptional academic performance, even as the percentage of free and reduced-price lunch recipients at the school has increased, indicating its ability to effectively serve students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

801

Students ?

12.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$8,804

Per pupil spending ?

99.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

8400 Barstow NE
Albuquerque, NM 87122

(505) 857-9282

District: Albuquerque

Students who attend Desert Ridge Middle usually attend:

High:

La Cueva High

Feeder schools for Desert Ridge Middle:

Elementary:	Double Eagle Elementary
	Edmund G Ross Elementary
	North Star Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

39.5%

Hispanic:

36.8%

Asian:

10.2%

See top rated New Mexico middle schools

Compare Desert Ridge Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 95th percentile in 2014 → 93rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the New Mexico average (65% vs 35% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 7% of New Mexico middle schools

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Albuquerque

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school65%

District avg35%

New Mexico avg35%

14^th of 192

New Mexico public middle schools ?

Top 7%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

From top 4% (2015) to top 7% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Mexico Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 27Middle Schools in the Albuquerque

54^th of 82Albuquerque among New Mexico districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	93.4	14 of 192	92.7%	★★★★★
2024	94.0	5 of 165	97.0%	★★★★★
2023	97.8	9 of 239	96.2%	★★★★★
2022	96.4	10 of 232	95.7%	★★★★★
2019	95.1	7 of 200	96.5%	★★★★★
2018	93.5	7 of 186	96.2%	★★★★★
2017	89.7	12 of 176	93.2%	★★★★★
2016	92.2	12 of 208	94.2%	★★★★★
2015	94.6	8 of 207	96.1%	★★★★★
2014	91.1	11 of 222	95.0%	★★★★★
2013	92.2	10 of 193	94.8%	★★★★★
2012	94.4	8 of 178	95.5%	★★★★★
2011	94.6	6 of 173	96.5%	★★★★★
2010	96.7	5 of 179	97.2%	★★★★★
2009	95.7	8 of 178	95.5%	★★★★★
2008	96.3	6 of 172	96.5%	★★★★★
2007	97.3	4 of 171	97.7%	★★★★★
2006	98.7	2 of 156	98.7%	★★★★★
2005	99.3	1 of 157	99.4%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	71.5	4 of 29	86.2%	★★★★☆
2023	90.4	4 of 38	89.5%	★★★★★
2022	78.0	8 of 55	85.5%	★★★★☆
2019	97.9	1 of 22	95.5%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	89.4	1 of 2	50.0%	★★★★★
2024	76.4	4 of 22	81.8%	★★★★☆
2023	86.2	3 of 31	90.3%	★★★★★
2022	90.7	1 of 37	97.3%	★★★★★
2019	92.9	1 of 12	91.7%	★★★★★
2018	82.0	1 of 6	83.3%	★★★★★

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2018	57.2	15 of 52	71.2%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	75.7	12 of 108	88.9%	★★★★☆
2023	73.7	11 of 97	88.7%	★★★★☆
2022	72.6	10 of 69	85.5%	★★★★☆
2019	94.6	1 of 21	95.2%	★★★★★
2018	75.6	3 of 21	85.7%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	96.0	2 of 162	98.8%	★★★★★
2023	98.1	7 of 213	96.7%	★★★★★
2022	96.0	7 of 220	96.8%	★★★★★
2019	95.9	4 of 160	97.5%	★★★★★
2018	93.2	4 of 156	97.4%	★★★★★

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2022	27.3	1 of 1	0.0%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	86.9	16 of 148	89.2%	★★★★☆
2024	88.9	7 of 154	95.5%	★★★★★
2023	95.8	11 of 204	94.6%	★★★★★
2022	92.2	9 of 214	95.8%	★★★★★
2019	87.8	9 of 150	94.0%	★★★★★
2018	84.6	12 of 149	91.9%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	95.7	9 of 173	94.8%	★★★★★
2024	95.0	5 of 144	96.5%	★★★★★
2023	67.0	56 of 227	75.3%	★★★★☆
2022	64.7	43 of 223	80.7%	★★★★☆
2019	66.0	40 of 175	77.1%	★★★★☆
2018	50.8	70 of 168	58.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	91.1	5 of 161	96.9%	★★★★★
2023	97.1	13 of 221	94.1%	★★★★★
2022	95.6	11 of 213	94.8%	★★★★★
2019	95.2	4 of 152	97.4%	★★★★★
2018	94.1	8 of 151	94.7%	★★★★★

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	89.6	2 of 18	88.9%	★★★★★
2022	93.7	1 of 37	97.3%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	88.2	1 of 15	93.3%	★★★★★
2024	61.3	6 of 27	77.8%	★★★★☆
2023	99.1	1 of 53	98.1%	★★★★★
2022	91.6	1 of 65	98.5%	★★★★★

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	86.3	5 of 59	91.5%	★★★★★
2023	87.5	9 of 58	84.5%	★★★★☆
2022	86.7	4 of 67	94.0%	★★★★★
2019	82.6	3 of 43	93.0%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	49.8	5 of 12	58.3%	★★★★☆
2024	47.0	16 of 78	79.5%	★★★★☆
2023	73.2	18 of 100	82.0%	★★★★☆
2022	42.0	28 of 58	51.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	65.0	13 of 44	70.5%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	91.4	14 of 178	92.1%	★★★★★
2024	91.9	4 of 142	97.2%	★★★★★
2023	97.0	11 of 229	95.2%	★★★★★
2022	94.8	4 of 187	97.9%	★★★★★
2019	91.6	4 of 121	96.7%	★★★★★
2018	89.4	6 of 120	95.0%	★★★★★

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Female (2024)99th percentile~ school

Male (2024)97th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)95th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)93rd percentile~ school

White (2025)92nd percentile~ school

Native American (2024)92nd percentile-5 vs school

Hispanic (2025)89th percentile-4 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)89th percentile-8 vs school

Military Connected (2024)89th percentile-8 vs school

African American (2024)86th percentile-11 vs school

Disabled (2018)71st percentile-25 vs school

Special Education (2025)58th percentile-34 vs school

Asian (2025)50th percentile-43 vs school

Foster Care (2022)<1st percentile-96 vs school

By subject vs New Mexico (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts69%+25 vs state

Science66%+32 vs state

Mathematics60%+33 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, October 1, 2020

May kids got an excellent education here. All went on to college. This middle school really prepares students for La Cueva HS which is just as challenging. Close Quote

Schools Near Desert Ridge Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				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	NM-ASR Science 8th Grade	NM-ASR Science All Grades	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 6th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 7th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 8th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
Desert Ridge Middle	Public	6-8	8400 Barstow NE	Albuquerque	87122	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	No	(505) 857-9282	801	63	12.6	99.1%	316 (39.5%)	14 (1.7%)	295 (36.8%)	82 (10.2%)	24 (3.0%)	2 (0.2%)	68 (8.5%)	93.4	14^th of 192 public middle schools	92.7%		94	5^th of 165 public middle schools	97.0%	9	66.2		71.4	68.9	68.0	69.5	67.9	59.6	51.2	59.8	$8,804
Eisenhower Middle	Public	6-8	11001 Camero Rd NE	Albuquerque	87111	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	No	(505) 292-2530	740	56	13.2	100.0%	371 (50.1%)	8 (1.1%)	258 (34.9%)	32 (4.3%)	22 (3.0%)	2 (0.3%)	47 (6.4%)	94.8	10^th of 192 public middle schools	94.8%		97.5	1^st of 165 public middle schools	99.4%	9	64.1		70.3	76.1	76.5	74.5	67.6	63.2	50.2	59.9	$7,915
Cleveland Middle	Public	6-8	6910 Natalie St NE	Albuquerque	87110	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 881-9227	474	39	12.2	98.7%	79 (16.7%)	23 (4.9%)	256 (54.0%)	17 (3.6%)	67 (14.1%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (6.8%)	51.8	70^th of 192 public middle schools	63.5%		46.2	59^th of 165 public middle schools	64.2%	11	38.0		54.2	44.8	56.3	52.1	29.6	26.9	22.5	26.2	$9,993
Madison Middle	Public	6-8	3501 Moon St NE	Albuquerque	87111	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	No	(505) 299-4735	532	40	13.4	99.6%	128 (24.1%)	22 (4.1%)	291 (54.7%)	20 (3.8%)	36 (6.8%)	2 (0.4%)	33 (6.2%)	47.4	81^st of 192 public middle schools	57.8%		51.5	44^th of 165 public middle schools	73.3%	37	41.9		46.3	49.7	47.2	47.7	37.5	23.3	16.1	25.0	$8,278
Renaissance Academy Charter School	Public, Charter	4-8	10301 Candelaria Rd NE	Albuquerque	87112	Bernalillo County	Renaissance Academy Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 296-7677	124	13	9.2	54.0%	36 (29.0%)	3 (2.4%)	56 (45.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (20.2%)	61.1	61^st of 192 public middle schools	68.2%		66	27^th of 165 public middle schools	83.6%	34	39.1	34.2	30.3	78.8	43.5	46.2		54.6		26.5	$9,538
McKinley Middle	Public	6-8	4500 Comanche Rd NE	Albuquerque	87110	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 881-9390	434	42	10.3	99.5%	34 (7.8%)	18 (4.1%)	281 (64.7%)	7 (1.6%)	70 (16.1%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.5%)	9.4	187^th of 192 public middle schools	2.6%		16.7	137^th of 165 public middle schools	17.0%	50	15.0		24.1	21.7	30.5	25.5	11.6	7.0		7.1	$10,829
Hoover Middle	Public	6-8	12015 Tivoli NE	Albuquerque	87111	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 298-6896	404	32	12.7	99.8%	119 (29.5%)	11 (2.7%)	198 (49.0%)	12 (3.0%)	22 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (10.4%)	66.8	52^nd of 192 public middle schools	72.9%		62.5	29^th of 165 public middle schools	82.4%	23	51.7		53.9	59.3	53.4	55.6	36.2	37.8	32.2	35.5	$9,402
Taylor Middle	Public	6-8	8200 Guadalupe Tr NW	Los Ranchos De Albuquerque	87114	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 898-3666	245	27	9.0	99.2%	34 (13.9%)	6 (2.4%)	177 (72.2%)	5 (2.0%)	16 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.9%)	23	149^th of 192 public middle schools	22.4%		36	84^th of 165 public middle schools	49.1%	65	25.3		41.5	25.7	30.9	32.4	26.2	18.6	12.4	18.5	$11,303
Taft Middle	Public	6-8	620 Schulte Rd NW	Albuquerque	87107	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 344-4389	243	21	11.6	99.6%	12 (4.9%)	3 (1.2%)	215 (88.5%)	4 (1.6%)	5 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.6%)	16.7	166^th of 192 public middle schools	13.5%		24.8	116^th of 165 public middle schools	29.7%	50	22.1		27.4	25.4	37.1	30.2	19.4	13.4		12.1	$11,809
Jackson Middle	Public	6-8	10600 Indian School Rd NE	Albuquerque	87112	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 299-7377	380	27	13.9	99.7%	86 (22.6%)	17 (4.5%)	196 (51.6%)	16 (4.2%)	37 (9.7%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.4%)	37.3	107^th of 192 public middle schools	44.3%		42.4	67^th of 165 public middle schools	59.4%	40	29.4		40.5	42.6	54.0	45.8	21.4	29.6	8.7	19.6	$8,926

Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Ridge Middle

What is the racial makeup of Desert Ridge Middle?

Students at Desert Ridge Middle are 39% White, 37% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 8% Two or more races, 3% American Indian, 2% African American.

What high school do graduates of Desert Ridge Middle attend?

Students who attend Desert Ridge Middle usually go on to attend La Cueva High

Is Desert Ridge Middle a good school?

Yes. Desert Ridge Middle ranks in the top 7.3% of New Mexico middle schools.

How many students attend Desert Ridge Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 801 students attended Desert Ridge Middle.

What district is Desert Ridge Middle in?

Albuquerque

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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.