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Nizhoni Elementary

Q: Is Nizhoni Elementary a good school?

Nizhoni Elementary ranks in the bottom 5.2% of New Mexico elementary schools.

Q: How many students attend Nizhoni Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 207 students attended Nizhoni Elementary.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Nizhoni Elementary?

Students at Nizhoni Elementary are 92% American Indian, 3% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% Two or more races.

Q: What schools do graduates of Nizhoni Elementary attend?

Students who attend Nizhoni Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Tse Bit Ai Middle High : Shiprock High

Public Grades PK, KG-5

327^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 345 New Mexico Elementary Schools

Better than 5% of New Mexico elementary schools

Summary

Nizhoni Elementary is a public elementary school located in Shiprock, New Mexico, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 253 students. The school is part of the Central District, which is ranked 78 out of 82 districts in New Mexico and is rated 0 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Nizhoni Elementary consistently ranks among the lowest-performing elementary schools in New Mexico, with rankings in the bottom 10-20% of the state over the past several years. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics are significantly below the state and district averages, indicating significant academic challenges. The school's performance on state assessments is particularly concerning for specific student subgroups, including Native American students, English Language Learners, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who make up the majority of the student population.

Nizhoni Elementary is located in close proximity to several other low-performing elementary schools in the Central District, including Mesa Elementary and Eva B. Stokely Elementary. This suggests that the academic challenges facing Nizhoni Elementary may be systemic within the district. Addressing the unique needs of Nizhoni Elementary and its student population will be crucial in improving educational outcomes and providing equitable opportunities for all students.

207

Students ?

10.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,021

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

Hwy 491
Shiprock, NM 87420

(505) 368-4565

District: Central

Students who attend Nizhoni Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Tse Bit Ai Middle
High:	Shiprock High

Racial breakdown:

American Indian:

91.8%

Hispanic:

3.4%

Asian:

2.4%

See top rated New Mexico elementary schools

Compare Nizhoni Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 8th percentile in 2014 → 5th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Mexico average (16% vs 35% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 24 pts below the New Mexico average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school16%

District avg24%

New Mexico avg35%

327^th of 345

New Mexico public elementary schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 13 pts since 2015

From bottom 18% (2015) to bottom 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Mexico Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

6^th of 6Elementary Schools in the Central

78^th of 82Central 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	14.3	327 of 345	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.3	408 of 413	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.5	434 of 435	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.4	402 of 420	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.5	387 of 396	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.0	371 of 383	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	17.1	328 of 374	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	12.1	402 of 410	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	24.2	345 of 421	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	16.2	407 of 442	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	20.6	351 of 412	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	14.9	369 of 398	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	14.7	369 of 402	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	18.6	375 of 419	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	17.4	371 of 411	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	14.5	379 of 405	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	9.5	382 of 398	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	12.6	372 of 390	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	4.5	386 of 389	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	6.8	222 of 223	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.9	81 of 98	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	2.0	396 of 398	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.7	329 of 343	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.0	335 of 339	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	15.6	306 of 325	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.8	349 of 356	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.2	425 of 426	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.1	363 of 410	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	10.6	352 of 361	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.9	343 of 356	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	6.2	393 of 397	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.3	319 of 333	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	6.5	90 of 90	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.8	92 of 92	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.2	62 of 64	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	17.5	42 of 48	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)6th percentile~ school

Male (2024)1st percentile~ school

Female (2024)1st percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2024)<1st percentile~ school

Native American (2024)<1st percentile~ school

By subject vs New Mexico (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts20%-24 vs state

Mathematics11%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Nizhoni 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 6th 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 6th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
Nizhoni Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	Hwy 491	Shiprock	87420	San Juan County	Central	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 368-4565	207	20	10.3	100.0%	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	7 (3.4%)	5 (2.4%)	190 (91.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.9%)	14.3	327^th of 345 public elementary schools	5.2%		6.3	408^th of 413 public elementary schools	1.2%	81		28.6	17.1			20.0	20.0				11.3	$11,021
Eva B Stokely Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	West Hwy 64	Shiprock	87420	San Juan County	Central	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 368-5109	203	23	9.0	100.0%	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.4%)	4 (2.0%)	181 (89.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.4%)	23.3	272^nd of 345 public elementary schools	21.2%		38.5	225^th of 413 public elementary schools	45.5%	47	16.7	21.1	36.8	31.0		28.3			35.7		26.3	$13,874
Mesa Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	N Hwy 491 Mesa School Rd	Shiprock	87420	San Juan County	Central	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 368-4529	229	21	11.1	100.0%	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	215 (93.9%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.7%)								(n/a)			30.0	20.5		21.2					13.5	$11,357
Atsa' Biya' a'zh Community School	Public	K-6	Pinon Street Bdg 1415	Shiprock	87420	San Juan County	Atsa' Biya' a'zh Community School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(505) 368-2100	200	21	9.6	98.5%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	200 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Nenahnezad Community School	Public	K-6	6675 SJ County Road South	Fruitland	87416	San Juan County	Nenahnezad Community School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(505) 960-6922	156	4	39.0	98.1%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	156 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Judy Nelson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	40 Cr 6580	Kirtland	87417	San Juan County	Central	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 598-6285	486	36	13.5	100.0%	69 (14.2%)	1 (0.2%)	70 (14.4%)	5 (1.0%)	318 (65.4%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (4.7%)	40.7	185^th of 345 public elementary schools	46.4%		53.4	155^th of 413 public elementary schools	62.5%	30	17.4	41.1	43.1	42.0	47.4	43.7		18.5	37.7	39.7	28.0	$11,168
Beclabito Day School	Public	K-4	Clliford Ward Drive Hwy 64 Wes	Beclabito	87420	San Juan County	Beclabito Day School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(928) 656-3555	21	4	5.2	85.7%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Ojo Amarillo Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	Rd 6500 And Rd 6466	Fruitland	87416	San Juan County	Central	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 960-5271	280	26	10.9	100.0%	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.2%)	1 (0.4%)	261 (93.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.9%)	19.7	298^th of 345 public elementary schools	13.6%		16.1	358^th of 413 public elementary schools	13.3%	60		22.9	31.3	23.5	25.6	26.3		25.0	23.5	30.8	21.8	$11,665
Kirtland Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	30 Cr 6446	Kirtland	87417	San Juan County	Central	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 598-5893	388	30	13.1	100.0%	23 (5.9%)	1 (0.3%)	41 (10.6%)	0 (0.0%)	310 (79.9%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.4%)	25.2	258^th of 345 public elementary schools	25.2%		21.1	331^st of 413 public elementary schools	19.9%	73			43.2	24.6	34.6	27.2		29.6	21.1	25.5	20.3	$11,911

Frequently Asked Questions about Nizhoni Elementary

What schools do graduates of Nizhoni Elementary attend?

Students who attend Nizhoni Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Tse Bit Ai Middle
High : Shiprock High

Is Nizhoni Elementary a good school?

Nizhoni Elementary ranks in the bottom 5.2% of New Mexico elementary schools.

What district is Nizhoni Elementary in?

Central

What is the racial makeup of Nizhoni Elementary?

Students at Nizhoni Elementary are 92% American Indian, 3% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% Two or more races.

How many students attend Nizhoni Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 207 students attended Nizhoni Elementary.

Rate Nizhoni Elementary!

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Schools in Shiprock, 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.