The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in English language arts. The lowest is 14% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Will Rogers Elementary
Will Rogers Elementary sits on East Clinton in Hobbs, a mid-sized energy-industry hub in the heart of the Permian Basin. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Hobbs Municipal Schools, a district whose brief turned up no parent-relevant changes from recent years that would shift the picture for families considering enrollment.
Hobbs is the largest city in Lea County, and its identity runs through oil and gas extraction. The surrounding region is the nation's top oil-producing county, and the local economy draws heavily from mining, quarrying, retail trade, and educational services. The city promotes itself as free from the congestion found elsewhere in the Permian and touts lower rental prices than neighboring communities. Housing in the school's zip code runs well below both state and national benchmarks for typical home values, and rents are modest relative to income. For families, that means the cost of living near Will Rogers is comparatively light, though the auto-oriented layout of Hobbs means nearly every errand requires a car. The city operates a local transit service called Hobbs Express, and civic amenities include parks, a library, recreation programs, a senior center, a teen center, and a golf course. Lea County Regional Airport offers daily nonstop flights to Houston and Denver.
Will Rogers serves a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with a sizable minority of white students and a small number of Black and multiracial children. About half the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a reflection of the mixed working-class and middle-class character of the community. The school does not have magnet status and operates as a regular public school. Information on English-learner status, special-education enrollment, staffing, discipline, attendance, and course access was not available, so those dimensions of the school environment are left blank here rather than guessed.
Academic results from the most recent state assessments show a school working from a low baseline. In English language arts, roughly a third of tested students reached proficiency or above. Math was weaker, with about a quarter of students proficient. Science results were lower still, with only a small share of the grade-band students who sat for the assessment demonstrating proficiency. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or a flat line. A parent weighing Will Rogers may want to look into how the school is responding to these numbers and what supports are in place for students who are not yet on grade level.
The school sits in a community that has grown steadily over the past decade and a half, tied to the boom-and-bust rhythm of the oil patch. Publicly reported sources describe Hobbs as having added population through the most recent census, with continued estimates of growth into the middle of this decade. That growth context matters for families because it shapes everything from classroom crowding to the tax base supporting school operations, though no specific district-level changes or referenda surfaced in the research.
What families get at Will Rogers is a traditional public elementary school embedded in a working energy town with affordable housing, a car-dependent lifestyle, and a predominantly Hispanic student population. The academic results are below where most parents would want them, and the data gaps mean several questions about student support and school climate remain open. The school's place in the broader Hobbs district, and whether district-level initiatives are addressing proficiency shortfalls, is something a family would want to ask about directly.
See more original research from School Decision →