Central Elementary

Central Elementary is a small, high-poverty school in Belen, NM, serving 166 students in grades 4–6 as part of Belen Consolidated Schools. Its latest overall rank is 138th of 165, in the 16th percentile with 1 star, and almost every student is economically disadvantaged (99.4% free/reduced lunch in 2024–2025). The student/teacher ratio has improved to 11.4 in 2024–2025, down from 14.8 in 2022–2023, which is much lower than nearby middle schools.

In 2025–2026, NM-MSSA all-grade proficiency was 36.64% in ELA and 17.56% in math, below district rates of 44.93% and 27.52% and state rates of 44.66% and 27.85%. On NM Combined, Central was 36.09% ELA and 18.8% math; its district, Belen Consolidated Schools, scored 42.35% and 24.43%, so Central is below its own district as well. Math is consistently much weaker than ELA—roughly half the ELA rate—and 5th-grade math and science are especially low: 5th-grade math was 17.02% on NM Combined versus 40.44% district and 33.85% state, while 5th-grade science was 14.89% on NM Combined versus about 30% district and 32% state.

Compared with nearby schools, Central Elementary is much smaller than Belen Middle (475 students), Valencia Middle School (445), and Los Lunas Middle (719). Central Elementary's 11.4 student/teacher ratio is the lowest among them, but that advantage has not translated into higher proficiency. Central Elementary's math results are close to Belen Middle's and Valencia Middle School's, while its ELA is slightly lower than Belen Middle's. Los Lunas Middle, in Los Lunas Public Schools, is the clear standout: it outperforms Central Elementary by about 13 percentage points in ELA and 12 points in math on NM Combined, despite a much larger enrollment and a 19:1 ratio. Overall, Central Elementary is a small, high-poverty 4–6 school with a favorable student/teacher ratio, but its outcomes remain below district and state levels, especially in math and 5th-grade science; ELA has improved since 2023–2024, but math has stayed flat and low.