Middle Schools in Mesa Vista

The Mesa Vista Consolidated Schools district in New Mexico is home to two middle schools: Ojo Caliente Elementary and Mesa Vista Middle. While both schools serve economically disadvantaged student populations, with 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, Mesa Vista Middle stands out as the higher-performing school in the district.

Mesa Vista Middle has consistently ranked among the top middle schools in New Mexico, reaching as high as 61st out of 239 schools in the 2022-2023 school year and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school outperforms the state average in both Language Arts and Science proficiency, with 48% of students proficient in Language Arts compared to the state average of 38%, and 38% proficient in Science compared to the state average of 34%. Additionally, Mesa Vista Middle has a lower student-teacher ratio of 15.1, which may contribute to its stronger academic performance compared to Ojo Caliente Elementary's ratio of 18.1.

In contrast, Ojo Caliente Elementary lags behind its counterpart, with lower test scores in both Language Arts and Mathematics. The school's racial demographics also differ, with a higher Hispanic student population at 89.83% compared to Mesa Vista Middle's 82.35%. These disparities in academic achievement and student demographics suggest the need for the district to closely examine the factors contributing to the performance gap and implement targeted interventions to support the growth of all students, particularly at the lower-performing Ojo Caliente Elementary.