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Central Elementary

Public Grades 4-6

Summary

Central Elementary is a middle school located in Belen, New Mexico, serving grades 4-6 with a total enrollment of 183 students. The school is part of the Belen school district, which is ranked 48 out of 82 districts in the state and is rated 2 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger. Unfortunately, Central Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New Mexico middle schools, earning a 1-star rating for the 2023-2024 school year.

Academically, Central Elementary significantly underperforms compared to the Belen district and the state of New Mexico in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics proficiency. In the 2024-2025 school year, only 36.3% of students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 43.57% in Belen and 44.19% statewide. In Mathematics, the proficiency rate was just 17.81%, compared to 27.56% in Belen and 26.81% statewide. The school's performance is particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, such as female, white, and low socioeconomic status students, who perform significantly worse than the state average.

Despite the school's relatively low student-teacher ratio, the academic challenges persist. When compared to nearby middle schools, such as Belen Middle and the Los Lunas middle schools, Central Elementary consistently performs worse in both ELA and Mathematics proficiency. This suggests that the school may be facing unique challenges that need to be addressed by the school's leadership and the Belen district.

166

Students ?

11.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,859

Per pupil spending ?

99.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

600 W. Picard Ave
Belen, NM 87002

(505) 966-1200

District: Belen

Students who attend Central Elementary usually attend:

High:

Belen High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

81.3%

White:

15.7%

African American:

1.8%

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At a glance

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Mexico average (27% vs 35% meeting standards)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school27%

District avg36%

New Mexico avg35%

279^th of 345

New Mexico public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▼ down 17 pts since 2015

From bottom 36% (2015) to bottom 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Mexico Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

48^th of 82Belen 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	22.2	279 of 345	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.8	332 of 435	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.2	258 of 420	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	33.1	259 of 396	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.0	231 of 383	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2017	38.9	216 of 374	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2016	41.2	222 of 410	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2015	34.7	268 of 421	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2014	33.8	308 of 442	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2013	34.0	289 of 412	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2012	26.6	314 of 398	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	36.4	267 of 402	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2010	35.2	293 of 419	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2009	37.4	272 of 411	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2008	41.4	241 of 405	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2007	35.7	260 of 398	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2006	32.5	280 of 390	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	29.8	297 of 389	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2023	30.5	158 of 191	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	46.5	110 of 203	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	38.7	63 of 98	35.7%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2023	24.8	312 of 390	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	41.9	190 of 395	51.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	49.2	151 of 343	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	43.4	180 of 339	46.9%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	30.3	182 of 255	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.4	337 of 395	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.4	215 of 389	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	36.2	204 of 320	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	35.0	216 of 329	34.3%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	24.0	261 of 325	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.8	316 of 426	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	39.2	208 of 410	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.1	205 of 361	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	47.9	173 of 356	51.4%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2023	24.1	322 of 414	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.0	263 of 392	32.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	17.1	305 of 337	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	25.3	268 of 333	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2023	30.2	138 of 165	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	19.2	264 of 304	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.7	355 of 413	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	41.1	200 of 325	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	14.4	190 of 199	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	43.8	104 of 187	44.4%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Elementary school

Hispanic (2025)29th percentile+9 vs school

Male (2023)22nd percentile~ school

Female (2023)20th percentile-4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)20th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2023)17th percentile-6 vs school

Special Education (2023)16th percentile-7 vs school

White (2025)13th percentile-6 vs school

Middle school

Male (2024)28th percentile+12 vs school

Hispanic (2024)14th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2024)8th percentile-8 vs school

White (2024)6th percentile-10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)6th percentile-11 vs school

By subject vs New Mexico (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts36%-8 vs state

Mathematics18%-9 vs state

★

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Schools Near Central Elementary

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-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 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
Central Elementary	Public	4-6	600 W. Picard Ave	Belen	87002	Valencia County	Belen	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 966-1200	166	15	11.4	99.4%	26 (15.7%)	3 (1.8%)	135 (81.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.2%)								(n/a)		42.0	37.8	30.5			36.3	22.0	18.9	13.6			17.8	$9,859
Belen Middle	Public	7-8	314 South 4th St	Belen	87002	Valencia County	Belen	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 966-1600	475	30	15.8	99.8%	67 (14.1%)	9 (1.9%)	382 (80.4%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.3%)	28.6	134^th of 192 public middle schools	30.2%		30.4	99^th of 165 public middle schools	40.0%	35	16.1				43.5	39.3	41.2				24.0	13.1	18.0	$9,375
Valencia Middle School	Public	7-8	22 Marlink Rd	Los Lunas	87031	Valencia County	Los Lunas	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 866-8231	445	21	21.1	99.8%	111 (24.9%)	4 (0.9%)	304 (68.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.2%)	28.7	133^rd of 192 public middle schools	30.7%		31.9	96^th of 165 public middle schools	41.8%	37	29.2				34.5	33.3	33.9				24.5	16.7	20.5	$9,022
Los Lunas Middle	Public	7-8	220 Luna Ave	Los Lunas	87031	Valencia County	Los Lunas	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 866-8231	719	38	19.0	99.9%	114 (15.9%)	5 (0.7%)	546 (75.9%)	3 (0.4%)	36 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.1%)	45.3	86^th of 192 public middle schools	55.2%		42	68^th of 165 public middle schools	58.8%	18	29.1				48.1	51.7	50.0				29.8	15.1	22.0	$7,473

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Central Elementary?

Students at Central Elementary are 81% Hispanic, 16% White, 2% African American, 1% Two or more races.

What district is Central Elementary in?

Belen

What high school do graduates of Central Elementary attend?

Students who attend Central Elementary usually go on to attend Belen High

How many students attend Central Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 166 students attended Central Elementary.

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Schools in Belen, NM

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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.