Enrollment
74
Middle
DISTRICT 92 · STATE 335
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PENASCO·NCES 350204000695
PENASCO MIDDLE
13 SCHOOL RD, PENASCO, NM 87553 · (575) 587-2230 · Taos County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL74 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 78% of New Mexico public middle schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-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
15.5:1
5 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 12.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
74 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 6 | 29 | 39% |
| Grade 7 | 23 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 22 | 30% |
Student demographics
25%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 26% · 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
PENASCO MIDDLE→PENASCO HIGH
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within PENASCO. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NM-MSSA + NM-ASR 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
40.0%
NM avg 44.2%
Math
10.0%
NM avg 27.2%
What this means: On the NM-MSSA + NM-ASR, New Mexico's statewide test, about 40 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 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
41.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.4%
based on NM schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% 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 PENASCO MIDDLE
PENASCO MIDDLE's state test result (41.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| PENASCO MIDDLE this school | 74 | 100.0% | 41.8% |
| LAZARO LARRY GARCIA MIDDLE MORA | 83 | 98.8% | 41.4% |
| MESA VISTA MIDDLE OJO CALIENTE | 51 | 100.0% | N/A |
| OJO CALIENTE ELEMENTARY OJO CALIENTE | 55 | 100.0% | 48.9% |
| JAL JR HIGH JAL | 119 | 100.0% | 35.8% |
| UNION ELEMENTARY LAS VEGAS | 90 | 100.0% | 22.7% |
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 PENASCO MIDDLE ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 74 | #132 of 160 |
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
74
+24 (+48%) vs 2020
-46% since 1990-91, when it was 138
Student : Teacher
15.5:1
was 16.7:1
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 | 74 | 4.8 | 15.5:1 | 100% (74) |
| 2023-24 | 69 | 2.3 | 30.1:1 | 97% (67) |
| 2022-23 | 72 | 2.7 | 26.7:1 | 100% (72) |
| 2020-21 | 50 | 3 | 16.7:1 | 100% (50) |
| 2017-18 | 57 | 5.6 | 10.1:1 | 95% (54) |
| 2015-16 | 53 | 5 | 10.6:1 | 94% (50) |
| 2010-11 | 86 | 6 | 14.3:1 | 60% (52) |
| 2000-01 | 98 | 7 | 14.0:1 | 73% (72) |
| 1990-91 | 138 | 7 | 19.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for PENASCO MIDDLE.
Since 2017-18: students up 30% (57 to 74); teachers down 15% (5.6 to 4.8).
About PENASCO MIDDLE
PENASCO MIDDLE serves students in PENASCO, New Mexico, as a small middle school. The school's 74 students are in grades 6 through 8. Enrollment is 78% lower than the average for middle schools in New Mexico, which is about 335.
Enrollment across the 3 schools in PENASCO totals 276 students.
The student body at PENASCO MIDDLE is 86% Hispanic. Other groups include 5% Native American, 4% White, and 4% multiracial. By comparison, Taos County residents are about 51% Hispanic. PENASCO MIDDLE's diversity index is 25%, against a US figure of 70%.
Federal staffing data show 4.8 full-time-equivalent teachers at PENASCO MIDDLE and a ratio of 15.5:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 12.5:1 average for middle schools in New Mexico. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 100% of enrollment. That is higher than the 89% average for public schools in Taos County.
PENASCO MIDDLE is graded A- by allk12, scoring above 78% of New Mexico public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
PENASCO MIDDLE posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 41.8%, compared with a predicted 33.4%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of New Mexico schools on BeatsExpectations.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Taos County show that the median household income is $58,950, about 39% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 12%. Besides PENASCO MIDDLE, Taos County has 22 other public schools.
Nearest public school: PENASCO HIGH, less than a tenth of a mile away. A five-mile radius around the school includes 2 other public schools. Nearby schools average 37.1% on proficiency, and PENASCO MIDDLE is above that at 41.8%.
The NCES locale for PENASCO MIDDLE is Rural: Remote, which covers schools in rural territory far from an urban area.
PENASCO MIDDLE enrolled 50 in 2020-21 and 74 in 2024-25. Changes in grade configuration can produce shifts of this size. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (15.5:1) than in 2020-21 (16.7:1).
The PENASCO MIDDLE community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Taos County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
34,543
Census ACS
Median income
$58,950
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
23
3,727 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in PENASCO
- PENASCO ELEMENTARYElementary · 127 students
- PENASCO HIGHHigh · 75 students
Other schools in PENASCO
- PENASCO ELEMENTARYElementary · 127 students
- PENASCO HIGHHigh · 75 students
Nearby schools
- PENASCO HIGH0.0 mi · 75
- PENASCO ELEMENTARY0.1 mi · 127
- DIXON ELEMENTARY11.2 mi · 50
- RANCHOS DE TAOS ELEMENTARY13.4 mi · 225
- TAOS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL14.5 mi · 179
- VISTA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL15.2 mi · 69
Frequently asked questions
About PENASCO MIDDLEWhat is the total enrollment at PENASCO MIDDLE?
PENASCO MIDDLE enrolls approximately 74 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does PENASCO MIDDLE serve?
PENASCO MIDDLE serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does PENASCO MIDDLE have?
PENASCO MIDDLE employs 5 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.5:1.
What is the student diversity at PENASCO MIDDLE?
Student demographics at PENASCO MIDDLE are roughly 4% White, 86% Hispanic, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees PENASCO MIDDLE?
PENASCO MIDDLE is overseen by PENASCO in Taos County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.