Yearly stats for NM schools released

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) - The Adequate Yearly Progress report on 827 New Mexico public schools showed that overall they did not meet federal standards. 183 schools, or 22-percent, met the national AYP standards which is down nearly 10-percent from 2009.

The Albuquerque Public School District which is the largest in the state did not meet AYP standards overall as 144 schools did not make the grade and 25 did.

When she made the announcement Monday, Education Secretary Doctor Susanna Murphy said the news is nothing to get discouraged about because the national standards get tougher each year.

“It's those moving targets that can give a false sense to communities that schools are failing when in essence they are progressing in terms of growth,” Doctor Murphy said.

Doctor Murphy said despite the low numbers, New Mexico schools are improving in math, reading and science. When it comes to reading, schools around the state are seeing slower, more irregular growth.

Doctor Murphy also praised the 15 schools that have made AYP for two years straight which pulls them out of the “in need of improvement” area.

“We want to focus on growth and proficiency and take note that we are making progress, [but] we may not be satisfied with the progress,” Doctor Murphy said.

The results released Monday are preliminary and will be certified in September. School administrators have the right to appeal the AYP findings. The federal government requires annual AYP tests for all public schools in the country under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Parts of Doctor Murphy's goals were to close the achievement gap and prepping students for the future. She called on parents and the community as a whole to help the students achieve. Doctor Murphy also applauded the use of the Student and Teacher Accountability Reporting System (STARS). She credited STARS for targeting who could not read at the end of third grade and which students needed a bit more help.

Below are some statistics that Doctor Murphy presented:

• In the last six years, the percent of students proficient or above has increased 12 percent overall in math, 3 percent in reading and 6 percent in science.
• Third grade posted the largest gains with a 4 percent increase over 2009.
• Over the last six years, fifth grade math proficiency has had the greatest gains at 18 percent followed by eight grade at 15 percent.
• Math posted the largest gain in proficiency to 58 percent.
• Native American third graders showed the largest increase of 7 percent over the last year.
• Fourth grade math proficiency increased 3 percent over the last year and 6 percent over six years.
• Eighth grade proficiency in math decreased 2 to 5 percent in every group in 2010. The largest decrease was among English-language learners.
• Eighth grade math was on a steady increase until 2010. Math proficiency increased by 6 percent to 16 percent for every group since 2004 to 2005.