Senate committee backs bill to require New Mexico to publish state assessment results by Sept. 1

Senate Education Committee members voted to give Senate Bill 247 a recommendation to pass after hearing testimony that the measure would require the Public Education Department to publish finalized statewide summative assessment results for English language arts, mathematics and science by Sept. 1 each year.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Ramos, told the committee, “This bill focuses on making key student performance data more accessible to the public,” and said earlier publication would give policymakers and school leaders more time to analyze results before budget and policy decisions.

Transparency advocates, district leaders and business groups told the committee the timing of release matters. Amanda Aragona, executive director of New Mexico KidsCAN, said one reason for the bill is the recent change in the timeline for releasing results: “Historically … the data came out before the deadline … in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and ’22. It’s been the last three years that it’s come out closer to December and in November.”

Supporters argued earlier publication would help schools identify students who need interventions sooner, allow districts to prioritize successful programs and give legislators finalized data before they draft budgets. Carrie Robin Bruner, registered lobbyist for Public Charter Schools of New Mexico, said late results “don’t do very much good for our schools and our teachers if we receive it very, very late.” Stan Rounds, representing the coalition of school superintendents, said timing is critical and the coalition wants to work with the sponsor on specifics of the deadline.

Jacqueline Sanchez, a Policy Division staff member at the Public Education Department, told the committee PED can publish preliminary data but said the department “at this time [does] not have the ability to publish the final achievement data.” She said she would take notes and follow up on questions about causes of the delay.

The committee heard the bill could align New Mexico with other states that release results earlier; testimony cited states that routinely publish in August. Witnesses also referenced the Yazzie Martinez court ruling as part of the context for tracking progress on student outcomes.

After questions and discussion about whether to place a new section in statute or amend an existing section (22-2C-11 was mentioned), the committee recorded a motion for a “do pass” recommendation on Senate Bill 247. The motion (moved by Senator Pope and seconded by Senator Ezell) was carried; the transcript records the committee granting a “do pass” on SB 247 but does not record a full roll-call tally in the hearing record.

The committee then moved on to other bills scheduled for consideration on a later date.

Notes: The Public Education Department is referenced throughout the hearing as PED; the committee discussion distinguishes between preliminary data the department can publish and the final achievement data the bill seeks to make publicly available by a fixed deadline.