Enrollment
166
Middle
DISTRICT 321 · STATE 335
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BELEN·NCES 350018000142
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY
600 W. PICARD AVE, BELEN, NM 87002 · (505) 966-1200 · Valencia County
GRADES 04–06MIDDLE23-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL166 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 38% of New Mexico public middle schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded New Mexico public middle schools
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
15 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.6:1 · STATE 12.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
165 students
DISTRICT 100% · STATE 90%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 | 52 | 31% |
| Grade 5 | 47 | 28% |
| Grade 6 | 67 | 40% |
Student demographics
31%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 34% · STATE 55% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY→BELEN MIDDLE
Based on grade levels within BELEN. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NM-MSSA + NM-ASR 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
36.3%
NM avg 44.2%
Math
17.8%
NM avg 27.2%
What this means: On the NM-MSSA + NM-ASR, New Mexico's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 18 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Mexico schools, those numbers are about 44 and 27.
Source: NM-MSSA + NM-ASR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
27.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.5%
based on NM schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 34% typical for New Mexico schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New Mexico's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like CENTRAL ELEMENTARY
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY's state test result (27.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| CENTRAL ELEMENTARY this school | 166 | 99.4% | 27.4% |
| DUGAN-TARANGO MIDDLE LORDSBURG | 124 | 100.0% | 38.0% |
| LOVINGTON 6TH GRADE ACADEMY LOVINGTON | 232 | 100.0% | 43.0% |
| LA PLATA MIDDLE SILVER CITY | 259 | 99.6% | 35.5% |
| POLK MIDDLE ALBUQUERQUE | 222 | 96.4% | 23.3% |
| SNELL MIDDLE BAYARD | 201 | 100.0% | 27.1% |
Matched among New Mexico middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where CENTRAL ELEMENTARY ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.4% | #65 of 113 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 17.8% | #67 of 120 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.3% | #79 of 122 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 166 | #108 of 160 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.4% | #71 of 116 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -28.8% | #20 of 89 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
166
-49 (-23%) vs 2020
-45% since 1990-91, when it was 303
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
was 14.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 166 | 14.5 | 11.4:1 | 99% (165) |
| 2023-24 | 183 | 14.5 | 12.6:1 | 92% (169) |
| 2022-23 | 223 | 15 | 14.9:1 | 100% (223) |
| 2020-21 | 215 | 15 | 14.3:1 | 100% (215) |
| 2017-18 | 233 | 13.6 | 17.1:1 | 100% (233) |
| 2015-16 | 206 | 14 | 14.7:1 | 100% (206) |
| 2010-11 | 278 | 18 | 15.4:1 | 99% (275) |
| 2000-01 | 359 | 23 | 15.6:1 | 91% (327) |
| 1990-91 | 303 | 15 | 20.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for CENTRAL ELEMENTARY.
Since 2017-18: students down 29% (233 to 166); teachers up 7% (13.6 to 14.5).
About CENTRAL ELEMENTARY
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY is a small middle school based in BELEN, New Mexico. A federal count lists 166 students at the school, in grades 4 through 6. Average enrollment for middle schools in New Mexico is about 335, so this school runs 50% smaller than that.
The 10 schools of BELEN, including CENTRAL ELEMENTARY, enroll 3,500 students.
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY enrolls a student body that is 81% Hispanic. Beyond that, enrollment is 16% White. In Valencia County overall, about 61% of residents are Hispanic. By the diversity index, CENTRAL ELEMENTARY comes in at 31%.
The teaching staff at CENTRAL ELEMENTARY is 14.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 11.4:1. The average ratio among middle schools in New Mexico is 12.5:1, higher than at this school. About 99% of students, or 165, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Valencia County, the average is about the same, 100%.
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 38% of New Mexico public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For CENTRAL ELEMENTARY, the prediction is 33.5% and the result is 27.4%.
In Valencia County (population about 78,458), median household income is about $58,933, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 21%, and about 13% of people live in poverty. A total of 27 public schools operate in Valencia County, serving about 11,956 students.
The shortest distance from CENTRAL ELEMENTARY to another public school is about 0.5 miles, to BELEN INFINITY HIGH. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Of the 6 nearby schools with scores, including this one, CENTRAL ELEMENTARY is 5th on average proficiency.
NCES assigns CENTRAL ELEMENTARY the locale Suburb: Small, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population under 100,000.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count declined from 215 to 166. Federal data show the ratio falling from 14.3:1 to 11.4:1.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Valencia County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
78,458
Census ACS
Median income
$58,933
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
27
11,956 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in BELEN
- BELEN HIGHHigh · 958 students
- BELEN MIDDLEMiddle · 475 students
- LA MERCED ELEMENTARYElementary · 463 students
- RIO GRANDE ELEMENTARYElementary · 332 students
- GIL SANCHEZ ELEMENTARYElementary · 316 students
- DENNIS CHAVEZ ELEMENTARYElementary · 294 students
Other schools in BELEN
- BELEN HIGHHigh · 958 students
- BELEN MIDDLEMiddle · 475 students
- LA MERCED ELEMENTARYElementary · 463 students
- RIO GRANDE ELEMENTARYElementary · 332 students
- GIL SANCHEZ ELEMENTARYElementary · 316 students
- DENNIS CHAVEZ ELEMENTARYElementary · 294 students
Other Central Elementary schools
151 other US public schools in 35 states are named Central Elementary. CENTRAL ELEMENTARY is the 146th largest of the 152.
- CENTRAL ELEMENTARYLAS CRUCES, NM · 182 students
- CENTRAL ELEMENTARYARTESIA, NM · 149 students
- CENTRAL ELEMENTARYSANTA CLARA, NM · 133 students
- CENTRAL ELEMENTARYLORDSBURG, NM · 75 students
- Central Elementary SchoolCarrollton, GA · 991 students
Nearby schools
- BELEN INFINITY HIGH0.5 mi · 112
- BELEN MIDDLE0.6 mi · 475
- BELEN HIGH1.1 mi · 958
- RIO GRANDE ELEMENTARY1.2 mi · 332
- BELEN FAMILY SCHOOL1.2 mi · 154
- LA MERCED ELEMENTARY2.7 mi · 463
Frequently asked questions
About CENTRAL ELEMENTARYHow large is CENTRAL ELEMENTARY?
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 166 students in grades 04-06.
What grades does CENTRAL ELEMENTARY serve?
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY serves grades 04-06.
How many students per teacher at CENTRAL ELEMENTARY?
Approximately 11.4:1 students per teacher at CENTRAL ELEMENTARY.
What is the racial breakdown of students at CENTRAL ELEMENTARY?
At CENTRAL ELEMENTARY, the student body is approximately 16% White, 81% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Two or more.
Is CENTRAL ELEMENTARY public or private?
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY is a public K-12 school, overseen by BELEN.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.