Summary:
ZIP code 88023, which covers Bayard, New Mexico, is served by a single middle-level school: Snell Middle, a grades 6–8 campus at 501 Tom Foy Blvd with 201 students. It is part of Cobre Consolidated Schools, a district that ranks 51st of 87 statewide (41st percentile, 2 stars). Because Snell is the only middle school in the ZIP, families there have no within-ZIP alternative, and the school's student–teacher ratio stands at 17.3, with 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
The academic picture is one of broad, accelerating decline. Snell's statewide percentile rank has fallen 48 → 28 → 9 over three years, and its star rating dropped 2 → 1 → 0. In 2025–2026, all-grades English Language Arts proficiency was 28.18% on NM-MSSA against a state rate of 44.66%, and math was 11.54% against 27.85% — both below the school's own district as well as the state. Eighth-grade science was the widest single gap at 13.46% on NM-ASR versus 34.33% statewide. Year over year, ELA fell about 11.6 points, math about 6.8, and science about 5.9, while the gap to state widened in every subject. One caveat: 8th-grade math is reported only as "< 20%" for both the school and district, so that figure is under 20% and cannot be pinned to any exact value.
The brightest spot is 8th-grade ELA, the highest proficiency figure in the school's 2025–2026 results at 36.54%, with a clear upward gradient across grades (6th grade 19.44% → 7th 31.58% → 8th 36.54%). That same pattern does not appear in math, so it looks subject-specific. Note also that 100% free/reduced lunch signals high poverty, though the file offers no similar-poverty peer group for comparison, and no state or district benchmark for the staffing ratio. Overall, Snell trails its district by roughly 17 points in ELA and 7 in math on NM-MSSA, making it a current drag on district performance rather than a reflection of it.
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