APS to update interim reading goals to Emera after Istation merger; board presses on equity and data privacy

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education discussed on Sept. 17 changing the language of interim goals 1.1 and 1.2 to reflect Emera as the district’s progress-monitoring assessment after the Istation and Emera companies merged. Superintendent Gabriela Duran Blakey told the board, “Both of those goals originally referenced the Istation assessment tool. But since that time, Istation and Emera have merged into one company. So as a result, the Istation assessment that we previously used for our progress monitoring of interim goals 1.1 and 1.2 is no longer available.”

Why it matters: the New Mexico Public Education Department requires districts to use the statewide assessment for certain progress monitoring and schools use those results to trigger additional monthly monitoring for students not making gains. Board members pressed administrators on how Emera differs from Istation, pilot results, time students spend on the tool, how the tool handles accents and speech differences, and who owns the audio and assessment data.

Administration and vendor details: Blakey said the district and other New Mexico school systems are now using Emera’s mirror assessment for early reading in kindergarten through third grade and recommended updating the interim-goal language so that targets would remain the same “until we can see how this assessment is aligned.” When asked about costs, Blakey said, “There are no financial implications.”

Chris West, who spoke from the audience as a participant in the assessment discussion, described the assessment’s timing and tutor function: “For the assessment itself, they say the average is between 15 to 18 minutes, so 20 minutes. And then we do have a component that’s called the Emera tutor… the ideal amount of time of 30 minutes a week with the tutor.” He also addressed data ownership: “We own the data, but more specifically, the parent and the student owning data. And they’re using it on our behalf. They’re hosting it in their service on our behalf.”

On AI and equity: administrators and the chief academic officer said Emera uses AI to listen to students and adapt. Blakey said the assessment “does have the ability to listen to the students and account for any accents or any speech that the students have, and the teachers can also listen and override any of the assessment as well.” Chief Academic Officer Sherry Jett added that Emera “learns how the student speaks” and that teachers can override the AI to help it learn. Board members emphasized caution: Vice President Courtney Jackson and Board member Josefina Dominguez asked for documentation showing pilots’ results and noted concerns about accuracy when the tool does not recognize words or speech patterns, especially for English learners, students with speech impediments, and students with disabilities. Dominguez said she was “concerned about our most vulnerable within the vulnerable groups.”

State requirement and testing cadence: board members asked whether the Emera assessment is a state requirement. Blakey confirmed it is required by the New Mexico Public Education Department and explained the broader assessment schedule: early elementary reading assessments are administered three times per year as required, with monthly progress monitoring for students not on track. She said grades 3–8 are also required to be assessed three times a year in reading and math and that other federal- and state-required assessments (e.g., NM-MSSA, ACCESS for ELs, science assessments) remain part of the testing calendar.

Next steps: administrators agreed to gather and share pilot data (Blakey said 26 schools participated in the pilot), to monitor how Emera aligns with prior measures and district targets, and to provide contracts or data-sharing agreements to the board on request. Dominguez requested the district provide pilot results and the contract language on data ownership and privacy; superintendent Blakey and staff said they would provide those materials.

No formal action was required at the meeting to change board goals language; the item was presented as a request to revise the interim-goal wording to reflect the assessment the state and district will use.

The district’s stated immediate follow-up is to watch incoming Emera data and return to the board after comparing it to prior measures so targets and reporting can be validated.