Summary:
Zip code 87121 contains 17 schools serving roughly 10,452 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade — nine elementary schools, two middle schools, and six high schools — in a high-poverty part of Albuquerque where 15 of the 17 schools report free/reduced lunch rates of at least 96%. Fourteen schools belong to Albuquerque Public Schools, which ranks 55th of 87 New Mexico districts (37th percentile, 2 stars), while three are independent charters: Mission Achievement And Success 2.0, Albuquerque Aviation Academy, and Rio Grande Academy Of Fine Arts.
The clearest pattern is a two-tier divide by school type. The independent charters outperform the district schools in the same zip code. Albuquerque Aviation Academy posts all-grades proficiency of ELA 63.69, math 42.26, and science 59.3, with a graduation rate of 86.1, above both the state's 80.6 and APS's 75.6. Mission Achievement And Success 2.0 achieves ELA 67.55, math 39.86, and science 60.49 despite a 99.62% free/reduced lunch rate. By contrast, APS schools in this zip average roughly ELA 27.7, math 10.6, and science 19.3 — and no APS school here beat the state all-grades rate (ELA 43.34, math 25.54, science 33.4) in any core subject.
Math is the area-wide weak spot: Atrisco Heritage Academy High School is at 5.75 and West Mesa High at 5.43. Graduation and proficiency also tell different stories. Mark Armijo Academy graduates 85.9% of students yet all reported proficiency values are under 20%, and Atrisco graduates 81.0% with math at 5.75. Improvement is possible: Rio Grande Academy rose from the 26th to the 70th percentile in one year, and MAS climbed from the 57th to the 80th. Student/teacher ratios range from 9.6 to 18.4 but do not by themselves predict outcomes here.
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