Cliff Elementary

Cliff Elementary is a small rural PK–6 school in Cliff, New Mexico, serving 92 students in a remote stretch of the state where there are no other schools within 20 miles. Because there are no nearby schools to compare it with, the most useful reference points are its own district and the state as a whole — and by those measures this school stands out. Silver Consolidated Schools is rated 3 stars and ranks 30th of 87 New Mexico districts, while Cliff Elementary ranks 22nd of 346 elementary schools statewide — 94th percentile, 5 stars. The school is clearly outperforming the district it belongs to.

Math is the school's signature strength and it has held steady for years. In 2025–26, 49.06% of students were proficient in math, compared with 27.76% in the district and 25.54% statewide — nearly double the state rate. Math proficiency has stayed between 49% and 58% across four reported years, which is a durable pattern rather than one lucky class. Fourth grade is the standout: 70% proficiency in both reading and math, against district figures of 56.33% and 30.38%. Sixth-grade math came in at 64.29%. Reading is also above the state (50.94% vs. 43.34%), but the school's edge over its own district has narrowed to roughly even, which is worth watching. Several grade-level results were withheld by the state for privacy, so those are simply unknown — not signs of weak performance.

Results for students from low-income families are a genuine bright spot: this group has ranked in the 90th–97th percentile statewide for three consecutive years. Class sizes are very small, with a 9.8-to-1 student-teacher ratio, which makes individualized and small-group instruction realistic. Two cautions for parents reading the numbers: with only 92 students, a single child can shift a grade-level rate by 7–14 points, so treat year-to-year swings as directional rather than precise; and the free/reduced-lunch figures jump between 100% and about 24% from year to year, which reflects a change in how meals are reported, not a change in the community. Overall, Cliff Elementary is a high-performing small school with strong math results and notably strong outcomes for its low-income students.