Raton High

Raton High is a 350-student school in Raton, New Mexico serving grades 7 through 12, and it is the only secondary school in the Raton Public Schools district — there is no other school within 20 miles, so families in this part of the state have no nearby alternative to compare it against.

The clearest strength is graduation: Raton High graduates 89.4% of its students, compared with 80.6% statewide, and the rate has risen every year for four straight years (it was 74.8% in 2020–21, below the state that year). The clearest concern is what comes next. Among 11th graders, only 19.67% met college-readiness benchmarks in English language arts versus 37.07% statewide, and under 10% did so in math. Keep in mind that 11th grade has roughly 55 students, so each student shifts the percentage by nearly two points.

In many ways this is two schools under one roof. The 7th and 8th graders outperform the state — 55.56% of 8th graders were proficient in ELA versus 43.85% statewide, and 39.22% of 7th graders in math versus 27.10% — while the top of the building falls far behind. Overall, the school sat at the 30th percentile among New Mexico high schools in 2025–26, its lowest mark in ten years, and its effectiveness ratings slid across student groups. Nearly all students (98.86%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, yet that group actually ranked slightly above the school as a whole, so poverty alone does not explain the results.