Front Page  education

Friday, August 20, 2004

N.M. Students Improve on State Tests

By David Miles
Journal Capitol Bureau
    SANTA FE— Statewide test results released Thursday showed improvements in language arts and math for New Mexico fourth- and eighth-graders, but less than 60 percent of those students scored proficient or better.
    In language arts, 49 percent of public school fourth-graders and 57 percent of eighth-graders rated proficient or above on the New Mexico Standards-based Assessment.
    That compares to 45 percent of fourth-graders and 51 percent of eighth-graders who scored at least proficient in 2003, the first year of the test.
    New Mexico students also made gains in math, with 58 percent of fourth-graders and 49 percent of eighth-graders rating proficient or better. In 2003, 53 percent of fourth-graders and 46 percent of eighth-graders scored at least proficient in math.
    "We are moving in the right direction, but we have a ways to go," state Secretary of Public Education Veronica Garcia said at a news conference. "And that's why I'm saying we have to keep the pedal to the metal."
    Garcia highlighted the progress made since last year, including gains by minority students and those learning English.
    The share of fourth-graders scoring proficient or above in math increased from 44 percent to 49 percent among black students, from 46 percent to 52 percent among Hispanics and from 36 percent to 43 percent among American Indians.
    And the portion of fourth-graders who are learning English and scored proficient or better in math increased from 35 percent to 43 percent.
    "We're just beginning our journey, but the message is being heard that we are raising the bar for all students in New Mexico," Garcia said.
    Garcia attributed the higher test scores for minorities to a variety of factors, such as school districts ensuring that lesson plans reflect state standards and more professional development for teachers.
    Earlier this month, the state Public Education Department announced that 56 percent of 11th-graders scored proficient or better in reading, while 47 percent rated proficient or above in math on the New Mexico High School Standards Assessment.
    Students in grades four, eight and 11 in the past school year took criterion-referenced tests, which are designed to gauge how well students understand concepts spelled out in state education standards.
    The tests have replaced the norm-referenced TerraNova test, which scored New Mexico students based on how they compared to students in other states.
    The new test results will be a key component of New Mexico public school ratings of individual school performance, which the state Public Education Department plans to release on Aug. 30.
    Other factors are student attendance rates for elementary and middle schools and graduation rates for high schools.
    Despite the improved test scores for fourth- and eighth-graders, Garcia said she expects more schools to be placed in corrective action when her department announces new school ratings.
    That's because low scores from subgroups, such as ethnic groups, can hurt the rating of a whole school under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Garcia said.
    "This is a major paradigm and policy shift," Garcia said.
    More than 50 schools currently face corrective action, which can lead to replacing staff or curriculum, reopening the school as a charter school or having the state take over the school.
    Denise Potter, president of the New Mexico Coalition of School Administrators, said the improved test scores for fourth- and eighth-graders reflect the hard work of schools across the state.
    "We're definitely moving in the right direction," Potter said. "These tests are driving everything that we're doing."
    Potter is principal of Riverside Elementary School in Carlsbad, whose fourth-graders boasted some of the state's highest scores in language arts and math.
    The test was given in March to 22,855 fourth-graders and 24,299 eight-graders in New Mexico public schools.
    For test results for individual elementary schools and school districts, go to the state Public Education Department's Web site at www.ped.state.nm.us.