Carlsbad Early College High

Carlsbad Early College High is a public high school in Carlsbad, New Mexico, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 170 students. As part of the Carlsbad school district, which is ranked 42 out of 82 districts in the state, Carlsbad Early College High has consistently been one of the top-performing high schools in New Mexico, earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of the past 5-6 school years.

Carlsbad Early College High significantly outperforms the state and district averages on standardized tests, with 76.19% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in NM-ASR/Science, compared to 34.6% for the Carlsbad district and 41.69% for the state. The school also has consistently high four-year graduation rates, ranging from 73.7% to 89.6% over the past few years, which are significantly higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, Carlsbad Early College High excels in serving various student subgroups, ranking among the top schools in the state for female, male, Hispanic, and white students, as well as ranking 1st in the state for serving low socioeconomic status students.

Compared to the larger Carlsbad High School within the same district, Carlsbad Early College High has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 14.3 to 19.1 over the past few years, which is lower than the 20.2 ratio at Carlsbad High. This performance gap presents an opportunity for collaboration and knowledge-sharing to help improve outcomes at the district level. As an early college high school, Carlsbad Early College High also provides students with the opportunity to earn college credits while in high school, which can have long-term benefits for their academic and career trajectories.