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Sunset Elementary

Q: Is Sunset Elementary a good school?

Sunset Elementary ranks 184 th of 345 New Mexico elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

184^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 345 New Mexico Elementary Schools

Better than 47% of New Mexico elementary schools

Summary

Sunset Elementary is a public elementary school in Carlsbad, New Mexico, serving 419 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Carlsbad school district, which is ranked 42 out of 82 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Academically, Sunset Elementary's performance is generally lower than the district and state averages, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts (43.94%) and Mathematics (23.11%) below the Carlsbad district (44.45% and 28.35%) and the state (44.19% and 26.81%) averages. However, the school's 5th-grade science proficiency rate (37.5%) is higher than the district (32.31%) and state (29.3%) averages. Compared to nearby schools, Desert Willow Elementary has outperformed Sunset Elementary in both English Language Arts and Mathematics.

Sunset Elementary's performance varies across different student subgroups, with male students outperforming female students and Hispanic students generally performing better than White students. The school's English Language Learner students have performed well, ranking in the top 61 out of 223 New Mexico elementary schools, but its Special Education students have performed poorly, ranking 131 out of 132 New Mexico elementary schools. The school's overall ranking and rating have fluctuated over the years, and it has a relatively high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, similar to nearby schools in the area.

438

Students ?

16.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$8,498

Per pupil spending ?

28.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

923 North Walter St
Carlsbad, NM 88220

(575) 234-3300

District: Carlsbad

Students who attend Sunset Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Carlsbad Intermediate School - Pr Leyva Campus
High:	Carlsbad High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

72.1%

White:

24.7%

African American:

1.1%

See top rated New Mexico elementary schools

Compare Sunset Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 69th percentile in 2014 → 47th in 2025

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 22 percentile points since 2014

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

!Near the bottom of Carlsbad's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school34%

District avg36%

New Mexico avg35%

184^th of 345

New Mexico public elementary schools ?

Bottom 47%▼ down 14 pts since 2015

From top 39% (2015) to bottom 47% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Mexico Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 4Elementary Schools in the Carlsbad

42^nd of 82Carlsbad 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	40.8	184 of 345	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	58.2	138 of 413	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	76.6	92 of 435	78.9%	★★★★☆
2022	62.8	114 of 420	72.9%	★★★★☆
2019	42.4	212 of 396	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	53.5	148 of 383	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2017	50.9	156 of 374	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2016	44.8	202 of 410	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2015	52.3	164 of 421	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2014	64.6	136 of 442	69.2%	★★★☆☆
2013	61.8	135 of 412	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2012	66.4	117 of 398	70.6%	★★★★☆
2011	74.3	83 of 402	79.4%	★★★★☆
2010	79.4	61 of 419	85.4%	★★★★☆
2009	70.6	102 of 411	75.2%	★★★★☆
2008	81.0	55 of 405	86.4%	★★★★☆
2007	79.2	57 of 398	85.7%	★★★★☆
2006	86.7	36 of 390	90.8%	★★★★★
2005	91.6	19 of 389	95.1%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	70.5	61 of 223	72.6%	★★★★☆
2022	69.9	32 of 203	84.2%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	37.9	209 of 398	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	68.2	114 of 390	70.8%	★★★★☆
2022	39.9	202 of 395	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.1	187 of 343	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	47.2	160 of 339	52.8%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	43.0	134 of 255	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	56.0	136 of 384	64.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	77.4	80 of 395	79.7%	★★★★☆
2022	57.5	104 of 389	73.3%	★★★★☆
2019	40.2	193 of 320	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	49.7	151 of 329	54.1%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	56.1	106 of 325	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.9	146 of 356	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	76.9	89 of 426	79.1%	★★★★☆
2022	41.7	189 of 410	53.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	39.6	217 of 361	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	48.5	170 of 356	52.2%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	65.4	112 of 397	71.8%	★★★★☆
2023	80.4	73 of 414	82.4%	★★★★☆
2022	73.2	58 of 392	85.2%	★★★★☆
2019	40.7	185 of 337	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	52.8	130 of 333	61.0%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2022	19.5	131 of 132	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	34.0	199 of 304	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	45.0	161 of 339	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	76.1	89 of 413	78.5%	★★★★☆
2022	37.7	215 of 325	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	26.2	158 of 199	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	36.4	128 of 187	31.6%	★★☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)73rd percentile+6 vs school

Male (2024)72nd percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)67th percentile+21 vs school

Female (2024)47th percentile-19 vs school

Hispanic (2025)47th percentile~ school

White (2025)35th percentile-12 vs school

Special Education (2022)1st percentile-72 vs school

By subject vs New Mexico (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts44%~ state avg

Science38%+8 vs state

Mathematics23%-4 vs state

★

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Schools Near Sunset 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 5th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts All Grades	NM-MSSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 4th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 5th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
Sunset Elementary	Public	K-5	923 North Walter St	Carlsbad	88220	Eddy County	Carlsbad	No	(n/a)	No	No	(575) 234-3300	438	26	16.9	28.3%	108 (24.7%)	5 (1.1%)	316 (72.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)	40.8	184^th of 345 public elementary schools	46.7%		58.2	138^th of 413 public elementary schools	66.6%	46	37.5	42.7	43.0	46.1	43.9	26.8	22.6	20.2	23.1	$8,498
Edison Elementary	Public	1-5	406 N. Alameda Street	Carlsbad	88220	Eddy County	Carlsbad	No	(n/a)	No	No	(575) 628-4498	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Monterrey Elementary	Public	K-5	1600 Johnson St	Carlsbad	88220	Eddy County	Carlsbad	No	(n/a)	No	No	(575) 234-3309	366	22	16.6	28.1%	113 (30.9%)	1 (0.3%)	244 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	55.5	115^th of 345 public elementary schools	66.7%		67.2	108^th of 413 public elementary schools	73.8%	7	35.9	38.1	49.2	56.6	47.5	34.9	18.5	60.4	36.5	$9,032
Early Childhood Education Center	Public	PK-K	1801 West Lea St.	Carlsbad	88220	Eddy County	Carlsbad	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 234-3300	207	11	18.0	9.7%	41 (19.8%)	2 (1.0%)	159 (76.8%)	1 (0.5%)	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.0%)								(n/a)										$10,395
Cottonwood Elementary	Public	K-5	1609 W Lea Street	Carlsbad	88220	Eddy County	Carlsbad	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 234-3304	684	44	15.4	28.1%	99 (14.5%)	7 (1.0%)	558 (81.6%)	5 (0.7%)	4 (0.6%)	3 (0.4%)	8 (1.2%)	52.4	128^th of 345 public elementary schools	62.9%		45.2	198^th of 413 public elementary schools	52.1%	70	26.9	35.7	57.5	43.5	45.9	27.8	50.7	35.9	38.5
Ocotillo Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2106 Captain Williams Ln	Carlsbad	88220	Eddy County	Carlsbad	No	(n/a)	No	No	(575) 628-4498	621	38	16.4	20.1%	192 (30.9%)	5 (0.8%)	388 (62.5%)	11 (1.8%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (3.5%)	45.7	164^th of 345 public elementary schools	52.5%		70.2	97^th of 413 public elementary schools	76.5%	67	31.5	48.3	52.0	30.4	44.2	32.8	30.4	22.8	29.0	$8,453
Desert Willow Elementary	Public	K-5	2100 Primrose St	Carlsbad	88220	Eddy County	Carlsbad	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 234-3310	667	45	14.9	22.0%	149 (22.3%)	6 (0.9%)	495 (74.2%)	4 (0.6%)	5 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (1.0%)	61.3	93^rd of 345 public elementary schools	73.0%		47.7	182^nd of 413 public elementary schools	55.9%	89	30.8	66.3	60.0	51.4	58.8	33.7	35.8	30.8	33.6	$8,800
Loving Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	601 South Sixth	Loving	88256	Eddy County	Loving	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 745-2071	355	28	12.7	95.2%	104 (29.3%)	3 (0.8%)	243 (68.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.1%)	35.3	204^th of 345 public elementary schools	40.9%		72.7	86^th of 413 public elementary schools	79.2%	118	25.0	27.7	56.5	45.5	43.1	14.3	21.3	34.1	22.9	$14,857

Frequently Asked Questions about Sunset Elementary

Is Sunset Elementary a good school?

Sunset Elementary ranks 184^th of 345 New Mexico elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Sunset Elementary in?

Carlsbad

What is the racial makeup of Sunset Elementary?

Students at Sunset Elementary are 72% Hispanic, 25% White, 1% African American, 1% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Sunset Elementary attend?

Students who attend Sunset Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Carlsbad Intermediate School - Pr Leyva Campus
High : Carlsbad High

How many students attend Sunset Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 438 students attended Sunset Elementary.

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NMNew Mexico Elementary School Rankings

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Schools in Carlsbad, 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.