The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in English language arts. The lowest is 43% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Explore Academy
Explore Academy is a single-school charter district in New Mexico serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. It operates on a choice-based, seminar-style educational model, and its charter contract was renewed without condition for the term running through late June of 2029, which gives families some assurance of continued operation over the next several years. The school has been designated a Spotlight School in New Mexico for the 2025-26 cycle, publicly reported as reflecting sustained high performance with consistent top letter-grade ratings from the state's Public Education Department year after year.
On the most recent state assessments for grades three through eight, Explore Academy shows solid results in English language arts and science, with a clear majority of tested students reaching proficiency in ELA and just over half doing so in science. Math proficiency is lower, with fewer than half of tested students meeting the proficient-or-above bar. A parent weighing the academic profile may want to look into the school's approach to math instruction further, particularly how it supports students who arrive below grade level. Participation rates were not available in the data provided, so it is not possible to confirm what share of eligible students sat for the exams. Average scale scores were also missing for all three subjects.
The school's enrollment is moderate for a K-12 charter, with the largest concentrations in the middle grades and a tapering off in the upper high school years, particularly in eleventh and twelfth grade. The student body is roughly balanced between white and Hispanic students, each making up close to half of enrollment, with small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, so the economic profile of the student population cannot be characterized from what was provided. Similarly, the counts and rates for students with individualized education programs and English learners were missing, which means a parent whose child receives special education or language-support services would need to ask the school directly about what is available.
Several categories of information that families often rely on were absent from the data. No locale brief or community context was provided, so there is no grounded description here of the surrounding area, housing market, or commute patterns. No housing values or rent figures were available. No neighbor comparison fact-set was included, so Explore Academy cannot be positioned against nearby districts or schools in its county. Program offerings, course access, staffing levels, discipline data, and attendance figures were all missing as well. Civil-rights data was not provided. The graduation rate was not available in the payload, and while the school does serve twelfth grade and presumably graduates students, the absence of that figure here means a parent should seek it directly from the school or the state.
Multi-year academic trends were not available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether proficiency rates are improving, holding steady, or declining over time.
What the available evidence does show is a charter school with a distinctive seminar-based model, a recently renewed charter securing several more years of operation, public recognition from the state as a high performer, and assessment results that are comparatively strong in reading and science while math sits below the proficiency midpoint. Families drawn to a smaller, choice-based K-12 setting with a seminar approach may find this a fitting option, though they would benefit from asking the school directly about math outcomes, special education and English learner services, graduation rates, and the economic diversity of the student body, since none of that information was available in the data reviewed here.
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