The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 29% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Berrendo Elementary
Berrendo Elementary sits on West Pine Lodge Road in Roswell, a mid-sized micropolitan city and the county seat of Chaves County in southeastern New Mexico. It is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, part of the Roswell Independent School District. The enrollment is sizable for an elementary building in this area, with students spread fairly evenly across the early grades and the largest cohort in fifth grade.
The student body is nearly evenly split between Hispanic and white students, with a small number of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which means the school operates as a universally high-need population. Data on English-learner identification and special-education enrollment was not available, so those population shares cannot be described here.
Roswell itself is an auto-oriented city spread across a large land area, with commercial and civic life concentrated along Main Street. The local economy blends agriculture, dairy, ranching, and irrigated farming with food manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum-related activity. Leprino Foods operates a major mozzarella plant in town, and the city serves as a regional retail and healthcare hub. UFO-themed tourism along Main Street, anchored by the International UFO Museum, brings seasonal visitors, and the New Mexico Military Institute and Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell add an institutional and educational layer. Parks and walking trails exist throughout the city, and Bottomless Lakes State Park and Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge are short drives away. The broader population trajectory is one of slow decline rather than rapid growth, with no major new housing developments publicly reported. The Roswell International Air Center has been drawing aviation events, including the National Championship Air Races, signaling some investment in events infrastructure.
Housing in the school's zip code is modest relative to state and national benchmarks. Typical home values sit well below the New Mexico statewide figure and further below the national mark, and rents are similarly affordable. The price-to-income ratio is low, which suggests that buying a home in this area is within reach for many working families compared with much of the country. Rents have been rising at a faster clip than home values recently, but both remain inexpensive in regional terms.
On the most recent state assessments, Berrendo's results tell a mixed story. English language arts is the stronger area, with close to half of tested students reaching proficiency. Math is weaker, with about a third of students proficient. Science, which is tested in a narrower grade band with a smaller group of test-takers, shows the lowest proficiency level, with fewer than a third of those tested reaching proficiency. Average scale scores were not reported, and participation rates were not available, so a parent looking to understand the full testing picture may want to ask the school about those details. Only one year of data is available, so no trend can be drawn yet.
The school does not have a charter or magnet designation. Title I status was not reported in the data provided. Discipline data, course-access information, staffing ratios, and attendance figures were all absent from what was available, so this account cannot speak to those dimensions. A parent considering Berrendo would want to ask the school directly about class sizes, specialist teachers, and any support services given the universally high-need population the building serves.
What is clear is that Berrendo is a community elementary school in a working micropolitan city where agriculture and food manufacturing anchor the local economy and housing costs are low. Its academic results show a real strength in literacy alongside a clear need for growth in math and science. For families already in Roswell or considering the area, Berrendo offers a neighborhood school environment with a bilingual-tilting student body and a community context shaped by the city's mix of rural industry, institutional anchors, and tourism-driven commerce.
See more original research from School Decision →