Best Public Schools in Zip Code 88316

Summary:

The 88316 zip code area is home to three schools - Capitan Elementary, Capitan High, and Capitan Middle - which serve students from elementary through high school. The data reveals a mix of high-performing and challenged schools within the Capitan school district.

Capitan Elementary stands out as a top-performing school, ranking 79th out of 345 New Mexico elementary schools and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school consistently outperforms the state average in English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency across all grade levels, despite having a very high percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients at 93.56%. In contrast, Capitan Middle has mixed academic results, with stronger performance in English Language Arts but weaker results in Mathematics.

Capitan High also stands out, ranking 50th out of 131 New Mexico high schools and earning a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school outperforms the state average in Science proficiency for 11th grade but underperforms in 11th grade English Language Arts. However, the school's four-year graduation rate of 78.0% is below the state average, which could be an area of focus for improvement. Overall, the Capitan school district as a whole is ranked 29th out of 82 districts in New Mexico and is rated 3 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger, indicating a moderately high level of performance compared to other districts in the state.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SAT School Day English Language Arts (2025)	NM-ASR Science (2025)			NM-MSSA English Language Arts (2025)							NM-MSSA Mathematics (2025)							Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SAT School Day English Language Arts 11th Grade	NM-ASR Science 5th Grade	NM-ASR Science 8th Grade	NM-ASR Science 11th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 6th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 7th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 8th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts All Grades	NM-MSSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 4th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 5th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 6th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 7th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 8th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
Capitan Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	150 South Forest Ave	Capitan	88316	Lincoln County	Capitan	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 354-2239	207	18	11.6	33.3%	123 (59.4%)	2 (1.0%)	75 (36.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.9%)	67.8	79^th of 345 public elementary schools	77.1%		76.5	74^th of 413 public elementary schools	82.1%	5		46.4			47.8	57.6	64.3				57.1	43.5	39.4	25.0				35.7	$11,595
Capitan High	Public	9-12	519 Smokey Bear Blvd	Capitan	88316	Lincoln County	Capitan	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 354-2239	134	16	8.2	28.4%	87 (64.9%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (29.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (5.2%)	51.5	50^th of 131 public high schools	61.8%		84.5	22^nd of 172 public high schools	87.2%	28	34.5			55.2															$12,874
Capitan Middle	Public	6-8	519 Smokey Bear Blvd	Capitan	88316	Lincoln County	Capitan	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(575) 354-2239	102	8	12.3	30.4%	62 (60.8%)	1 (1.0%)	31 (30.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	1 (1.0%)	6 (5.9%)	54.3	66^th of 192 public middle schools	65.6%		64.6	28^th of 165 public middle schools	83.0%	38			43.2					57.1	58.6	43.2	52.1				35.7	31.0	18.9	27.7	$11,085

Cities Near Zip Code 88316

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Capitan	0.2 mi	3	25^th
Fort Stanton	4.66 mi	1
Ruidoso	13.73 mi	4	35^th
Carrizozo	18.64 mi	3
Hondo	21.79 mi	2

See the top NM New Mexico cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the New Mexico Public Education Department.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.