Yucca Heights Elementary

Yucca Heights Elementary is a K–6 school at 580 Angelina Blvd in Chaparral, New Mexico, enrolling 439 students as part of Gadsden Independent Schools, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. For 2025–26 it ranked 203rd of 346 ranked New Mexico elementary schools (41st percentile, 2 stars), placing it slightly above its own district's average statewide position.

Academically, math is the relative strength: 30.80% proficiency beats the state's 25.54%, although the margin over the district's 28.89% is thin. Reading sits essentially at state parity (42.59% vs. 43.34%). Performance swings widely by grade. Fourth grade is the standout — 59.74% in language arts, roughly 12 points above the district — while fifth grade is the weak spot, with math at 27.78% against a district figure of 45.10% and science at 20.37%, below both district and state. English-language learners are a bright spot, ranking 52nd percentile with 3 stars, the only 3-star subgroup at the school.

One structural difference stands out: Yucca Heights has a student–teacher ratio of 15.1, the highest in its comparison group, and it has climbed each of the last three years. Nearby Chaparral Elementary posts similar reading results (40.89%) with a 12.8 ratio, Desert Trail Elementary posts much stronger math (51.02%) at 14.4, and Sunrise Elementary is the weakest area performer. Reading has improved every year (34% to 42.59%), but because the pool of ranked schools shrank, the school's percentile drifted from 55th to 41st even as its absolute rank held steady — the trend to watch.