Summary:
ZIP code 87116 contains just two public schools, both elementary schools inside Albuquerque Public Schools, and both are located at KAFB East addresses in Albuquerque: Sandia Base Elementary (PK–6, 280 students) and Wherry Elementary (PK–5, 240 students). There are no middle, high, or alternative schools here. The district is ranked 55th of 87 in New Mexico, at the 37th percentile with 2 stars, and both schools report 100% free/reduced lunch for 2024–2025 — so the area's schools serve a high-need population.
Sandia Base Elementary is the stronger performer. In 2025–2026 its all-grade English/language arts proficiency was 51.85%, above the district's 44.59% and the state's 44.66%, with 4th-grade ELA at 58.7% and 5th-grade ELA at 55.26%. Its 5th-grade science was 36.84%, also above district and state, and higher at 42.86% the year before. Math is more mixed: all-grade math was 25.19% (slightly below district and state), with 3rd-grade math at 15.69% and 5th-grade math at 39.47%. Its rank history was strong — 72nd and 77th percentile in the two prior years — before slipping to the 51st percentile in 2025–2026.
Wherry Elementary shows very low results where data exists: 2025–2026 all-grade ELA was 23.75% and all-grade math was under 10%, both far below district and state, while 2024–2025 ELA was 15.69% and math 6.86%. Many of its scores, including all science and 3rd- and 5th-grade ELA and math, are state-suppressed, so those areas are unknown rather than proven failures. Its only visible grade-level results are 4th-grade ELA at 29.41% and 4th-grade math at under 20%. Its older rank history sits in the bottom decile. Notably, Wherry has the smaller student-teacher ratio (12.0 vs 13.6) despite lower outcomes, showing class size alone does not explain the gap.
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