Best High Schools in Zip Code 87114

ZIP code 87114 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is served by two public high schools — Volcano Vista High and Cibola High — both in Albuquerque Public Schools and serving grades 9–12, with a combined enrollment of 3,606 students; the former is the larger campus at 2,089 students and the latter enrolls 1,517.

For parents, Volcano Vista High stands out for graduation and English/language arts: its 2024–25 graduation rate is 87.2%, above the district’s 75.6% and the state’s 80.6%, and its 11th-grade SAT ELA score is 46.85 versus 37.07 statewide. It also has a smaller student–teacher ratio, 13.3 versus Cibola High’s 15.4. Cibola High is stronger in math and science: its 11th-grade NM-ASR science score is 38.87 versus Volcano Vista High’s 31.55, and its 11th-grade NM Combined math is 16.03 versus 13.9. Cibola High’s 2023–24 rank was the best in the set—44th of 172, 74th percentile, 4 stars—but its 78.1% graduation rate is below the state and 9.1 points behind Volcano Vista High. In 2025–26, Cibola High ranks 56th of 132 (58th percentile, 3 stars) and Volcano Vista High 64th of 132 (52nd percentile, 3 stars), while the district is 55th of 87 (37th percentile, 2 stars).

Both schools face challenges. Math is a systemic weak point: statewide 11th-grade math proficiency is only about 12.5–12.7%, and both schools cluster near the district’s roughly 16%. Science fell sharply for both from 2024–25 to 2025–26, more than the state’s decline: Volcano Vista High dropped from 46.82 to 31.55 and crossed below the state’s 34.27, while Cibola High fell from 52.82 to 38.87 but remains about 4.6 points above state. The raw rank for Volcano Vista High stayed 64th, but its percentile slipped from 63rd to 52nd; the rank percentile for Cibola High has drifted down from 74 to 63 to 58. Notably, both serve high-poverty populations—99.23% and 95.85% free/reduced lunch—yet both post above-state 11th-grade ELA, and Volcano Vista High posts an above-state graduation rate. The takeaway: Cibola High is the more balanced performer, while Volcano Vista High is more polarized with elite graduation and ELA but weaker science.