The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in English language arts. The lowest is 34% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Zia Elementary
Zia Elementary sits on Jefferson Street NE in Albuquerque, a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade within Albuquerque Public Schools. The campus is small for its grade band, with a single class per grade in most years, which gives the school a compact, neighborhood-scale feel. Hispanic students form the largest share of the enrollment, followed by white students, with smaller groups of American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black, and multiracial children rounding out the population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and the reported figure exceeds total enrollment, which often reflects community eligibility or data-collection methods that capture more families than the headcount alone.
Academically, the most recent state assessment results tell a mixed story. English language arts stands out as a relative strength, with a majority of tested students reaching proficiency. Math and science results are softer, with roughly a third of tested students meeting the proficiency bar in each subject. Science was tested in a narrow grade range, so the tested group was small, which can make year-to-year results swing more sharply than they would in a larger school. A parent weighing Zia may want to ask the school how it approaches math instruction and what interventions or supports are in place for students working below grade level, since that is where the numbers are most muted.
The data has gaps that are worth naming. Special-population figures for individualized education programs and English learners were not reported in the available data, so the narrative here cannot speak to those services directly. No multi-year trend is available, because only a single year of assessment results exists in the data set, so there is no way to characterize whether performance is rising, falling, or holding steady. Average scale scores were also missing from the state report. These are data gaps rather than signs of weakness.
The surrounding community shapes what Zia is. Albuquerque is New Mexico's largest city, publicly reported as a sprawling, car-oriented place divided into four quadrants by Central Avenue and the railroad tracks. The city blends residential neighborhoods with major federal installations, the University of New Mexico, a growing film and media sector, and commercial corridors along historic Route 66. Civic anchors include the Rio Grande bosque running through the city center, Petroglyph National Monument on the West Mesa, and the Sandia Mountains to the east. Walkable street life clusters in nodes like Old Town Plaza, Downtown, and the Nob Hill area near UNM rather than spreading evenly across the city. The school's location in the northeast quadrant places it in a part of the city with older, established neighborhoods.
Housing in the school's zip code is relatively affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks, with home values sitting below the statewide level and rents on the modest side. The price-to-income ratio sits below the national figure, and estimated monthly rent consumes a smaller share of household income than the typical mortgage payment would, which means renting near the school may be the more accessible path for many families. Home values in the area have dipped slightly over the past year, while rents have risen modestly.
Zia Elementary fits a family looking for a small, neighborhood public school with a diverse student body and solid reading results, situated in an affordable corner of a large, complex city. The math and science numbers are the place to press for more, and the absence of trend data means a parent is working from a single snapshot rather than a trajectory.
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