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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LAS CRUCES·NCES 350150000455

SIERRA MIDDLE

1700 E SPRUCE AVE, LAS CRUCES, NM 88001 · (575) 527-9640 · Doña Ana County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL698 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 65% of New Mexico public middle schools
  • BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • B+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

Enrollment
698
Middle
DISTRICT 606 · STATE 335
Student : Teacher
10.7:1
66 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.9:1 · STATE 12.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
696 students
DISTRICT 100% · STATE 90%
Community
1
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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 622332%
Grade 723133%
Grade 824435%
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 34% · STATE 55% · US 70%
White
9614%
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 19% · US 43%
Hispanic
57482%
DISTRICT 80% · STATE 63% · US 30%
Black
152%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 2% · US 15%
Asian
41%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 1% · US 6%
Two+
51%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 4% · US 5%
Native American
30%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 12% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
36152%
Female
33748%

Discussions

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Test scores

NM-MSSA + NM-ASR 2024-25 . % Proficient
English Language Arts
45.3%
NM avg 44.2%
Math
24.5%
NM avg 27.2%

What this means: On the NM-MSSA + NM-ASR, New Mexico's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 25 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
36.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.5%
based on NM schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.8pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 36% 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 SIERRA MIDDLE

SIERRA MIDDLE's state test result (36.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
SIERRA MIDDLE this school69899.7%36.3%
MESA MIDDLE
LAS CRUCES
728100.0%30.0%
LYNN MIDDLE
LAS CRUCES
50799.8%22.1%
SIERRA MIDDLE
ROSWELL
557100.0%25.3%
BELEN MIDDLE
BELEN
47599.8%26.4%
PICACHO MIDDLE
LAS CRUCES
698100.0%27.2%
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 SIERRA MIDDLE ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn New MexicoIn Doña Ana County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
36.3%#29 of 113#2 of 11
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
24.5%#36 of 120#2 of 11
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
45.3%#42 of 122#5 of 11
Enrollment
ranked largest first
698#16 of 160#3 of 12
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
10.7:1#24 of 101#4 of 11
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
30.4%#75 of 103#5 of 11
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
99.7%#58 of 116#10 of 11
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-22.5%#35 of 89#2 of 9
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 2024-25
Enrollment
698
-188 (-21%) vs 2020
-20% since 2000-01, when it was 870
Student : Teacher
10.7:1
was 17.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2569865.510.7:1100% (696)
2023-2475247.116.0:1100% (752)
2022-2379949.516.1:1100% (799)
2020-218865017.7:1100% (886)
2017-189014918.4:163% (565)
2015-168945217.2:161% (543)
2010-118835615.8:157% (500)
2000-018705815.0:153% (458)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for SIERRA MIDDLE.

Since 2017-18: students down 23% (901 to 698); teachers up 34% (49 to 65.5).

About SIERRA MIDDLE

SIERRA MIDDLE runs as a high-enrollment middle-grades school in LAS CRUCES, New Mexico. It serves 698 students in grades 6 through 8. The average among middle schools in New Mexico is roughly 335 students; this school is 108% bigger than that.

Across its 39 schools, LAS CRUCES enrolls 22,670 students. SIERRA MIDDLE is one of those schools.

SIERRA MIDDLE enrolls a student body that is 82% Hispanic. Other reported shares: 14% White and 2% Black. That compares with about 68% Hispanic among all Doña Ana County residents. By the diversity index, SIERRA MIDDLE comes in at 30%.

A ratio of 10.7:1 comes from the school's 65.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. For comparison, middle schools in New Mexico average 12.5:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 100% in 2024-25. That is close to the 98% average for public schools in Doña Ana County.

The allk12 Grade for SIERRA MIDDLE is B+. Compared with New Mexico public middle schools, the school scored higher than 65% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.

On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, SIERRA MIDDLE is 2.8 points above the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 36.3% actual, 33.5% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in New Mexico.

Doña Ana County census figures show that median household income is about $56,848, roughly 32% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 19%. SIERRA MIDDLE is among the 81 public schools in Doña Ana County.

EXPLORE ACADEMY LAS CRUCES is the public school closest to SIERRA MIDDLE, about 0.5 miles away. SIERRA MIDDLE has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. SIERRA MIDDLE's average proficiency of 36.3% compares with 26.9% for its nearest scored neighbors.

SIERRA MIDDLE is coded as City: Mid-size in federal locale data.

SIERRA MIDDLE saw enrollment fall 21% between 2020-21 and 2024-25. Its ratio of students to teachers was 17.7:1 in 2020-21, and 10.7:1 in 2024-25.

The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for SIERRA MIDDLE covering things like school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.

Doña Ana County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
224,266
Census ACS
Median income
$56,848
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
19%
Below federal line
Schools in county
81
36,561 students

Quick facts

School name
SIERRA MIDDLE
District
LAS CRUCES
Address
1700 E SPRUCE AVE, LAS CRUCES, NM 88001
Phone
(575) 527-9640
County
Doña Ana County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
698
Teachers (FTE)
66
Student–teacher ratio
10.7:1
Free and reduced lunch
696 (100%)
Locale
12-City: Mid-size
NCES ID
350150000455
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in LAS CRUCES
Other schools in LAS CRUCES
Other Sierra Middle schools

5 other US public schools in 3 states are named Sierra Middle. SIERRA MIDDLE is the 4th largest of the 6.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About SIERRA MIDDLE
How large is SIERRA MIDDLE?
SIERRA MIDDLE enrolls approximately 698 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does SIERRA MIDDLE serve?
SIERRA MIDDLE serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at SIERRA MIDDLE?
The student-to-teacher ratio at SIERRA MIDDLE is approximately 10.7:1 (66 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at SIERRA MIDDLE?
Student demographics at SIERRA MIDDLE are roughly 14% White, 82% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is SIERRA MIDDLE in?
SIERRA MIDDLE is part of LAS CRUCES.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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