APS board accepts preliminary early‑literacy results showing 6.4 percentage‑point gain in third‑grade proficiency

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education accepted a preliminary progress monitoring report on Goal 1 (early literacy) at its Oct. 1 meeting, after about an hour of questions about assessment methods, subgroup results and supports for students with disabilities.

Dr. Gabriela Duran Blakey, superintendent, told the board that 31.7% of third‑grade students identified under the Yazzie/Martinez decision and African American students demonstrated grade‑level proficiency or higher on the state English language arts summative assessment, “a 6.4 percentage point increase from last year and above our 2024–25 target of 29.3 percent.” She said the result “marks real progress toward our 2028 goal of 37.3 percent.”

Why it matters: the board framed the vote as an acknowledgement that administration and schools are producing measurable gains on a multi‑year goal for foundational reading. The discussion focused on whether the reported gains are reliable, how interim (AMIRA) assessments will be used, and how special education and English‑learner (EL) students will be supported going forward.

Most important details

- Vote: The board voted to accept the monitoring report. The motion was made by Board Member Courtney Jackson and seconded by…