The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in English language arts. The lowest is 7% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Wilson Middle
Wilson Middle sits in the southeast quadrant of Albuquerque, serving grades six through eight as part of Albuquerque Public Schools. The campus on Cardenas Drive SE sits in a part of the city shaped by several large institutions. Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base occupy major campuses on the southeast side, and the University of New Mexico lies to the northwest along Central Avenue. The surrounding neighborhood is one of dense residential blocks and commercial corridors, with the Rio Grande bosque running through the center of the city and the Sandia Mountains rising to the east.
The school serves a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with American Indian and Alaska Native students forming the next largest group. Smaller populations of Black, White, and multiracial students round out the enrollment. Virtually every student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which points to a community where economic need is widespread rather than concentrated in a few families. The school draws from neighborhoods where home values sit below both the state and national benchmarks, and where rents have been climbing modestly even as home values have softened slightly. Rented housing costs a smaller share of local income than the mortgage on a typical home would, which is a pattern that can keep families in place but also reflects limited local purchasing power.
On state assessments, Wilson's results are low across all three subjects tested. English language arts proficiency sits well below what most middle schools in the state see, and math proficiency is lower still, with only a small fraction of tested students reaching proficiency. Science results fall in between the two but remain low. These are single-year results from the most recent state assessment cycle, and no multi-year trend data was available, so there is no way to tell from the provided data whether performance is improving, stable, or declining. A parent considering this school may want to look into the school's academic improvement plans and instructional supports directly, since the current proficiency levels suggest many students are working below grade level.
Several categories of information that would help round out the picture were not available. Individualized education program rates and English learner rates were not reported, so it is not possible to describe the share of students receiving special education or language services. Discipline data, course access details, staffing levels, and attendance figures were all absent from the provided data. Title I status was not reported, though the free and reduced-price meal rate would typically qualify a school at this level. No program offerings, such as advanced coursework, arts, athletics, or extracurricular activities, were listed. The school does not have a graduation rate because it serves only middle school grades, and that is expected for this grade band.
Albuquerque itself is New Mexico's largest city, a sprawling, car-oriented place organized into quadrants by Central Avenue and the railroad tracks. The southeast quadrant where Wilson sits is home to the federal labs and the Air Force base, which are among the region's largest employers, alongside Presbyterian Healthcare, the university, and the public school district itself. The city has been promoting affordable housing initiatives and has seen growth in its film and media sector, with a production hub established by a major streaming company. The city's population has been roughly flat to slightly declining in recent years, with growth historically pushing outward into the Northeast Heights, the West Side, and the Southeast Mesa.
For a family weighing Wilson Middle, the core question is academic. The school serves a community with real economic challenges and a diverse student population, and its state assessment results reflect those pressures in stark terms. What the provided data cannot show is what the school is doing about it. That conversation, with the principal and the district, is where a parent would want to go next.
See more original research from School Decision →