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PED presents assessment results: big literacy gains, math flat or declining
Summary
PED presented statewide assessment results showing substantial early‑grade literacy gains and narrowing gaps for several subgroups while noting flat to declining math performance at middle and high school; staff recommended investments in math screeners, coaches and additional high school measures.
The Public Education Department presented state assessment results to the Legislative Education Study Committee, reporting notable post‑pandemic gains in literacy alongside continuing concerns about mathematics performance.
Lynn Vasquez, senior manager for assessment research at PED, said the state saw sizeable literacy improvements over four years: "We had a 10% increase across grades k 2 and in grade 3 8." PED staff credited a range of policies and investments—not a single action—for the gains, including structured literacy (LETRS professional development), literacy coaches and summer reading programs. Vasquez cautioned that year‑to‑year comparisons can be affected by test design and participation, and she urged use of multiple measures rather than single‑year snapshots.
PED described a small summer reading analysis using Amira that found a 19‑day summer dosage was associated with roughly double the proficiency rate in a ~208‑student sample compared with matched peers, but Vasquez emphasized the sample size and timeframe limit generalizability and that larger follow‑ups are planned.
At the same time, PED reported minimal change in grades 3–8 math since 2022 and a multi‑year decline in grade 11 SAT math proficiency. Vasquez said the decline is consistent with national trends and recommended policy actions including a statewide early math screener, expanded professional development, math coaches, and consideration of an additional high‑school progress measure (PSAT/PSAT10) so educators can intervene earlier.
On subgroup performance, PED noted substantial four‑year gains for Native American and economically disadvantaged students and modest gains for English learners and students with disabilities, though gaps remain. PED staff said they will follow up by contacting high‑growth and high‑proficiency schools to document practices and to publish district and school‑level data on the New Mexico Vistas portal (with masking for very small schools).
Committee members raised concerns about timeliness of actionable data for educators. PED responded that district leaders can access aggregated school and student results through vendor portals as early as May and that the department applies business rules (for example, full‑academic‑year enrollment) before publicly posting school accountability designations later in the year.
