Summary:
ZIP code 88415 in Clayton, New Mexico is served by two middle-level schools — Kiser Elementary (grades 5–6, 63 students) and Clayton Junior High (grades 7–8, 61 students) — which sit at the same address and together enroll 124 students as a single middle-grade campus split by grade band, both within Clayton Municipal Schools. The district ranks 14th of 87 in New Mexico (84th percentile, 4 stars). Both schools serve a high-poverty population, with free/reduced lunch rates of 100% at Kiser and 98.36% at Clayton Junior High — yet every one of their 2025‑2026 measurements exceeds the state average.
The two schools have opposite strengths. Kiser is the math standout: 52.17% of all students are proficient in math versus 25.54% statewide, and its 5th grade reaches 63.16% in math and 55.56% in science. Clayton Junior High is the language arts standout: 69.81% proficiency in ELA versus 43.34% statewide, peaking at 78.57% in 7th grade against a 46.63% state figure — the largest gap over state in this data. Neither school is strong in both relative to its own district, so families should weigh which subject area matters most for their child.
Two patterns are worth watching. Math proficiency slides steadily from grade 5 to grade 8 (63.16% → 44.44% → 39.29% → 32.00%), while ELA is uneven with a pronounced 7th-grade peak. Science is the most volatile subject: Clayton Junior High's 8th-grade science was the only below-state result in the data set (27.59% in 2024‑2025), then rose to 50.00% a year later. With roughly 30 students per grade, one student equals about 3–4 percentage points, so year-to-year swings should be read cautiously. Rankings show Clayton Junior High climbing from 53rd of 192 to 30th of 191; Kiser's last recorded rank was 10th of 165 (2023‑2024), which predates its current, stronger scores.
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