Summary:
ZIP code 88256 covers Loving, New Mexico, a small, high-poverty community where three public schools — one PK–5 elementary, one 6–8 middle, and one 9–12 high school — enroll a combined 734 students as part of Loving Municipal Schools, a district ranked 47th of 87 in the state with a 2-star rating.
That district rating hides wide differences between the three campuses. Loving Middle is the standout: 4 stars, 56th of 191 middle schools (71st percentile), and test scores above the state in all three subjects, including 57.93% proficient in English language arts versus 44.66% statewide and 35.86% in math versus 27.85%. Loving Elementary is also solid at 3 stars and the 65th percentile, with ELA at 52.29% and 5th grade science at 41.18%, both well above state; its weak spot is math, at 25.81% versus 27.85% statewide, with 4th grade math reported as under 20% against a state figure of 27.23%. Loving High is the weakest on tests — 1 star, 22nd percentile, ELA at 20.93% (SAT 11th grade) versus 37.07% statewide and 11th grade science at 28.57% versus 34.27%, with math reported as under 20% in multiple rows — yet its graduation rate of 89.9% outpaces the state's 80.6%.
Several patterns are worth noting for families. Class sizes are small and similar across all three schools, with student/teacher ratios between 11.7 and 12.7, so they are unlikely to explain the academic gap. Free or reduced lunch rates are very high — 95.21% at the elementary school, 95.11% at the high school, and 83.12% at the middle school — yet the middle school remains the strongest performer, so poverty alone does not determine outcomes. Trends also diverge: the elementary and middle schools both improved from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, particularly in science, while the high school moved backward in ELA and science and has declined over three years, from the 47th percentile to the 22nd.
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