The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 29%.
Original Research by School Decision on Abq Sign Language Academy
ABQ Sign Language Academy is a single-school charter district in New Mexico serving kindergarten through twelfth grade. According to publicly reported information from the New Mexico Public Education Department, it operates as a dual-language ASL-English program, which sets it apart from most schools in the state. Families seeking a bilingual environment grounded in American Sign Language and English would find this mission central to everything the school does. Admission runs through a lottery process, and the school recently had its enrollment cap raised, which may improve access for families drawn to its specialized approach. It also relocated to a new physical address on Griegos Road in northwest Albuquerque, a change that affects commute patterns for current and prospective families.
The enrollment is small, even for a charter school covering the full K-through-12 span. The bulk of the student body sits in the elementary and middle grades, with only a handful of students in the high school years. That shape suggests the school functions primarily as an elementary and middle program, with a modest upper-grade continuation rather than a full-scale high school experience. A parent of an older teenager would want to ask how the school handles upper-level coursework, social opportunities, and postsecondary preparation given those small cohort sizes.
Demographically, the student body is majority Hispanic, with a substantial white population and smaller representation from Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and multiracial students. The school's ASL-focused mission likely attracts deaf and hard-of-hearing students alongside hearing peers, though the data does not break out those populations directly. Information on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, individualized education program participation, and English learner status was not available, so it is hard to gauge the full range of student needs the school serves. A parent may want to ask the school directly about its support services and how it integrates deaf education with general instruction.
On state assessments for grades three through eight, the most recent results show a clear split between subjects. English language arts proficiency landed in a moderate range, with roughly a portion of tested students reaching proficiency. Math results were very low, in the bottom reported band, with only a few students demonstrating proficiency. Science results were suppressed, likely because of the small number of students tested in that subject, which is common for schools of this size. The tested pool across math and ELA was small, which means year-to-year results can swing sharply and should be read with that in mind. These proficiency figures, particularly in math, represent a soft spot that a parent may want to look into further with the school, asking about curriculum, instructional support, and how the dual-language model may affect assessment outcomes.
No graduation rate data was provided, which is consistent with the school's very small high school enrollment. State assessments for the high school grades were not included in the available data. Average scale scores were missing across subjects, and participation rates were not reported, so the proficiency picture is partial.
The data did not include a locale brief, housing market context, community economic information, civil-rights reporting, discipline data, course access details, staffing ratios, or attendance figures. There was also no neighbor comparison set available to position the school against nearby districts or charters. Without that context, it is hard to say how the school's results stack up locally or what the surrounding housing market looks like for families considering a move. A parent weighing this school would benefit from visiting in person, asking about the ASL-English instructional model, understanding how the school supports students who arrive without prior ASL exposure, and getting a clear picture of academic outcomes beyond what the state testing data captures.
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