The Niche 2023 Best Public High School in New Mexico is La Cueva High School. La Cueva earned the 2022 title from Niche as well.
Niche is a website that uses multiple data sources to rank schools, including self-reported data, and data from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics. Ranking factors include state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, teacher quality, and high school ratings.
For the website’s 2023 Best Public High Schools in America, La Cueva came in No. 826 out of 20,032. North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina is ranked No. 1. Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago, Illinois is ranked No. 2 and The Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada is ranked No. 3 Niche 2023 best public high school in America.
Great Schools, another website that rates schools based on a variety of criteria, ranks Early College High School the 2022 best public high school in New Mexico, followed by College and Career High School and Carlsbad Early College High. La Cueva is ranked No. 20 by Great Schools, getting an above average eight out of 10 rating.
La Cueva’s report card adds up to a 3.4 GPA
Niche gives La Cueva an overall A+ and high grades in a variety of areas including:
A in Academics
B+ in Teachers
B+ in Clubs & Activities
A in Sports
C+ in Resources & Facilities
A in Diversity
A in College Prep
B in Administration
B- in food
A basic GPA calculator shows the school received a 3.4 grade point average on its latest report card. Niche says La Cueva has 1,784 students in grades 9-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 20 to one. State test scores show 41% of students are at least proficient in math and 71% in reading.
Notable La Cueva alumni
Notable alumni from La Cueva include musicians, filmmakers, actors and athletes. Some notable alumni from the school include:
- Bryce Alford (class of 2013), professional basketball player
- Zach Arnett (class of 2005), defensive coordinator at Mississippi State University.
- J. Bramlett (class of 1995), professional basketball player
- Terri Conn (class of 1993), actress
- Marty Crandall, musician
- Jamie Dick (class of 2007), racing driver
- Mitch Garver (class of 2009), MLB catcher for Minnesota Twins
- Neil Patrick Harris (class of 1991), actor, Emmy and Tony Award winner, star of television’s “Doogie Howser, M.D.”
- Colin O’Malley (class of 1992), composer
- Jordan Pacheco, Major League Baseball player
- James Parr (class of 2004), retired Major League Baseball player
- Tammy Pearman (class of 1991), soccer player for the United States women’s national team
- Freddie Prinze, Jr. (class of 1994), actor
- Pascual Romero, musician and filmmaker
- Jesse Sandoval, musician
- Caitlin Shaw (class of 2008), stock car racing driver
- Jarrin Solomon, Olympic bronze medalist
- Nick Speegle(class of 2000), NFL linebacker
- Tony Vincent (class of 1991), actor
- Douglas A. Zembiec (class of 1991), U.S. Marine Corps officer
- Shadrack Kiptoo-biwott, long-distance runner
