Socorro High

Socorro High is a 9–12 high school at 1200 Michigan St in Socorro, New Mexico, serving about 378 students as the only high school in Socorro Consolidated Schools, in a small rural community where 98.15% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–25.

For about a decade, Socorro High sat in the bottom quarter of New Mexico high schools — as low as the 14th percentile in 2018–19. That has changed. The school jumped from the 25th percentile in 2023–24 to the 50th in 2024–25 and held at the 49th percentile (3 stars, 67th of 132 schools) in 2025–26, matching its best prior result. In 2025–26, 11th graders scored at or above the state average in every tested subject: level with New Mexico in language arts, +1 point in math, and +4 points in science. Three years earlier the school trailed the state by double digits across the board. The gains show up in nearly every student group, though low-income students (36th percentile) still rank below the school's overall standing — worth watching at a school where nearly all students are low-income. Class sizes have also shrunk, from 16.9:1 in 2022–23 to 11.9:1 in 2024–25.

Graduation is the weak spot. After out-graduating the state in 2020–21 and 2021–22, the rate fell to 70.7% in 2023–24 and recovered only partially to 75.8% in 2024–25 — about 5 points below the state. The nearest comparable school, Magdalena High (100 students, 19.5 miles away), tells the opposite story: Socorro now outranks it (49th vs. 38th percentile), reversing positions from 2023–24, but Magdalena's 85.5% graduation rate far exceeds Socorro's. Both belong to small, high-poverty rural districts — Socorro Consolidated Schools and Magdalena Municipal Schools — with similar district standings. Parents choosing here should note the real academic turnaround and the graduation gap that remains.