Summary
Cottonwood Valley Charter is a K–8 charter school in Socorro, NM, serving about 170 students and standing as the only K–8 school in its immediate area, where nearby schools stop at grade 5. In 2025–2026 it ranked 66th of 346 New Mexico schools (81st percentile, 4 stars), well above its district, Socorro Consolidated Schools (51st percentile, 3 stars). It has earned 4 or 5 stars every year on record, including a 5-star, top-10% run from 2015–16 through 2017–18.
Its biggest edge is in reading and the middle grades. All-grades ELA proficiency is 61.11%, about 21 points above the district and 18 above the state; math is 37.96%, about 14 and 12 points above. In grades 6–8, ELA runs far above state averages, and 7th-grade math is 77.78%, nearly three times the state rate. Elementary ELA is strong but similar to Midway Elementary. Science is the soft spot: at 35.14%, it is essentially at the state average and volatile because of small cohorts. Staffing is favorable at 11.1 students per teacher, the lowest locally. With 100% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, the school still ranks in the top 10% statewide for low-income students and has very high results for special education and English learners. The sharpest contrast is Parkview Elementary, less than a mile away, with a similar poverty rate but a 2-star, 39th-percentile rating and lower ELA and math scores.
Other nearby schools are more volatile: Magdalena Elementary outranked it this year but jumped from the 15th percentile in 2023–24; San Antonio Elementary improved but still reports below-state ELA; Midway Elementary swings widely; and Parkview Elementary has stayed low. The school’s long-term trend is mild softening, not decline—its percentile eased to 81st, but ELA and math remain far above district and state. With only about 170 students, a single grade is roughly 20 students, and several 2025–26 results are state-suppressed, not zero. Bottom line: Cottonwood Valley Charter is the strongest, most consistent performer in the Socorro area, a top-20% statewide school whose standout advantage is middle-grades ELA and math; science is the metric to watch.
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