Albuquerque elementary and middle schools near top of U.S. News' 'Best' rankings for NM

After three years, New Mexico elementary and middle schools, including those in Albuquerque, are making a comeback in U.S. News & World Report’s annual “best” rankings.

The Washington, D.C.-based publication, which makes education institutional rankings a staple of its operations, included 594 state schools in its middle school and high school rankings, released Thursday.

In an interview, LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News — who has been involved with the rankings for the last five years — said insufficient data provided by states and cities to the U.S. Department of Education prevented schools from New Mexico, Delaware, California, Oregon, Washington state and the District of Columbia from being included in the list until now.

“This is the first time there was sufficient data that was available,” Jones said. “That is very helpful to parents in terms of information that can help them decide where to send their children.”

He said that states sometimes provide to the federal government unverified or incomplete data on reading and math assessments — key criteria U.S. News uses to determine school rankings.

“(Without data), we cannot, with integrity, rank (schools),” Jones said.

The New Mexico Public Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Albuquerque Institute of Math & Science snagged the top spot on the list of best New Mexico middle schools, while Mountain Elementary in Los Alamos earned the same spot among best elementary schools.

Altura Preparatory School was the first elementary school in Albuquerque to make a top spot on that list, coming in at No. 4. Coyote Willow Family School, Georgia O’Keeffe Elementary, North Star Elementary, Hubert H. Humphrey Elementary and Double Eagle Elementary helped fill out most of the list’s top 10 slots.

The Ask Academy in Rio Rancho came in at No. 2 for middle schools, followed by Albuquerque schools Desert Ridge in third and Eisenhower in fourth. Among other Albuquerque schools, Cottonwood Classical Prep was ranked sixth, and Aces Technical High School was ranked ninth. Texico Middle, part of the Texico Municipal Schools, came in at No. 10.

Albuquerque Public Schools spokesperson Martin Salazar declined comment on the rankings, but Desert Ridge Middle School Principal Jojo Grano said it was “incredible” that her school was ranked in the top three.

Grano, who has worked in various roles at Desert Ridge over 17 years, said staffers at her school examine school rankings but focus more on state assessment data.

“That’s the bar that we’re held to,” Grano said. “What we tend to focus on is the growth and ‘Are we improving?’ If we don’t improve, (we’re) analyzing what happened and why.”

Sixty-two percent of Desert Ridge students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 66% scored at or above that level for reading, according to the rankings. Grano did not confirm the statistics, but said overall assessment scores this year have gone down. However, target student groups, including those impacted by the Yazzie-Martinez ruling, have all seen their scores go up “significantly.”

Though Grano does not believe national school rankings mean everything, she does believe it plays a role in recruitment of students and staff at Desert Ridge.

“I’ve been bragging about it all day,” Grano said, referencing APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey’s push for the “Stop Bagging, Start Bragging Movement,” which aims to change negative connotations about Albuquerque.

Jones said “there are quality public schools in every state at every grade level” when he was asked to respond to New Mexico’s historically low public school rankings against those in U.S. News.

“What these rankings do is they look at those that are the very best in terms of educating their students in math and in reading, which are the two most fundamental skills that students can learn in those early grades,” Jones said. “Part of our methodology also is (about) how well they are educating all the students at that school, regardless of race or ethnicity.”

For a complete list of rankings, go to usnews.com/education/k12.