Best Public Schools in Zip Code 88418

ZIP code 88418 is home to two small public schools, both in the Des Moines Municipal Schools district: Des Moines Elementary, serving grades PK–6 with 82 students, and Des Moines High, serving grades 7–12 with 50 students. There is no separate middle school and no alternative school, so grades 7–8 are housed at the high school, and its results cover both middle and high school grades. Both schools are small, with low student/teacher ratios (8.7 at the elementary and 6.8 at the high school) and moderate free/reduced lunch rates (46.34% and 34%).

Des Moines Elementary is the more consistently elite of the two. It earned 5 stars in every listed year: 11 of 346 schools (97th percentile) in 2025–2026, 2 of 413 (100th percentile) in 2023–2024, and 23 of 435 (95th percentile) in 2022–2023. Its proficiency is far above the state in both subjects — 78.38% in English language arts versus 44.66% statewide and 81.08% in math versus 27.85% in 2025–2026, and even higher in 2024–2025 at 83.72% in ELA and 88.37% in math.

Des Moines High is also strong, particularly in math and science. In 2025–2026 its NM-MSSA math result was at least 90% versus 27.85% statewide, science was 77.78% versus 33.62%, and ELA was 76.19% versus 44.66% — slightly below the elementary school and district in ELA but still far above the state. Its listed rank history includes 26 of 172 (85th percentile, 4 stars) in 2023–2024 and 10 of 170 (94th percentile, 5 stars) in 2022–2023. SAT figures are suppressed, and many grade-level results are too, because the cohorts are tiny. The district overall ranks 2 of 87 in New Mexico, 98th percentile, 5 stars.