Socorro Middle School

Socorro Middle School is a public middle school in the rural community of Socorro, New Mexico, serving grades 6–8 with 221 students as part of Socorro Consolidated Schools, a district that ranks 43 of 87 statewide. The school ranks 179 of 191 for 2025–2026 — the 6th percentile with 0 stars — and this is not a one-year dip: its statewide percentile has never risen above 26th in the years shown (18th, 26th, 13th, 17th, and 6th). Nearly all students come from low-income households, with a free/reduced-lunch rate of 97.74% in 2024–2025, and the student-teacher ratio rose to 15.2 that year from 12.1 and 11.2 in the two prior years.

Academically, Socorro Middle trails both its district and the state. All-grade Language Arts proficiency is 22.87%, versus 39.94% in the district and 43.34% statewide; all-grade math is 13.23%, against 24.03% and 25.54%. On NM-MSSA tests, ELA is 22.53% and math 12.57%, well below district and state figures. Eighth-grade Language Arts is 18.18% (state: 43.61%), and eighth-grade science is 17.86% on NM Combined and 18.87% on NM-ASR — roughly half the statewide 34%. Eighth-grade math is reported only as under 20%, so the exact number isn't available.

The nearest comparison is Magdalena Middle, 19.2 miles away. It is much smaller (69 students) but serves an equally high-poverty population (100% free/reduced lunch) with a similar student-teacher ratio (15.7) — yet it ranks 88 of 191 (54th percentile, 3 stars), near the middle of New Mexico schools, while Socorro Middle sits at the 6th percentile with 0 stars. Magdalena's all-grade Language Arts is 37.14% and math 21.43%, and its eighth-grade science is 33.33%, close to the state average. Socorro's subgroup effectiveness rankings are also low: female, Hispanic, White, and low-income students all fall in the bottom fifth, and male students rank 143 of 145 (1st percentile, 0 stars). One older exception: homeless students reached the 85th percentile with 4 stars in 2021–2022 — a single year, likely a small group.