Ruben S. Torres Elementary

Ruben S. Torres Elementary is a PK–5 school at 1910 8th St NW in Deming, New Mexico, serving 363 students as one of five PK–5 elementaries in Deming Public Schools that sit within roughly two miles of one another, which makes for an unusually close local comparison group.

On 2025–26 state tests, Torres posted 22.82% proficiency in English language arts and 18.79% in math — last among its Deming neighbors by a wide margin. Chaparral Elementary, Memorial Elementary, Bell Elementary, and Bataan Elementary range from 34.42% to 46.58% in ELA and 22.50% to 32.56% in math, and all four rank between the 31st and 45th percentile statewide, while Torres sits at the 4th percentile (331 of 346 schools, 0 stars). The district itself ranks 72 of 87 (1 star) and still outscores Torres in every subject. Reading is the larger deficit: Torres reaches 51% of the state ELA rate but 67% of the state math rate. Fifth-grade science is reported only as under 20%, versus 19.51–30.43% for nearby schools and 32.24% statewide.

This is not a one-year dip. Torres hovered near the 14th–16th percentile for most of the past decade, peaked at the 31st percentile in 2016–17, then fell to the 6th and now 4th percentile — its first 0-star years. Nearly all students (98.6%) qualify for free/reduced lunch, and class sizes are the smallest in the group (10.7 students per teacher versus 13.0–14.4) without translating into higher results. The clearest bright spot is special education students, who ranked at the 56th percentile with 3 stars, above the state median; English learners also climbed from the 2nd to the 22nd percentile across three reported years. Grade-level results look comparatively least weak in 3rd-grade math and weakest in 5th grade.