The Associated Press
SANTA FE — Education Week has given New Mexico an A for accountability and standards in its public schools, a B for resources and a B-minus for efforts to improve the quality of teachers.
"New Mexico is making tremendous strides at improving education, and it shows," said state Public Education Secretary Veronica Garcia.
The state rose from 23rd to seventh in standards and accountability in one year and from 30th to 17th in teacher quality improvements over two years, Garcia said.
"My goal is to see New Mexico in the top five in all categories," she said.
The education magazine's Quality Counts 2005 report card, released Wednesday, ranked New Mexico 33rd among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in education spending per pupil. It was Education Week's ninth annual state-by-state report card.
The report said New Mexico spent $7,407 per pupil in the 2001-2002 year, compared to the national average of $7,734. The District of Columbia ranked No. 1 at $11,269; Utah was last at $5,132.
However, the report noted that fewer than 2 percent of the state's students attend schools in districts that spend at least the national average of per-pupil expenditures.
New Mexico ranked 48th on the spending index, which looks at what percentage of students go to school in districts that spend at least the national average — and how far the rest fall below that level.
The organization did not grade states on adequacy of resources, but rather ranked them on key indicators of education spending. New Mexico allocates 4 percent of its total taxable resources toward education, slightly above the national average.
The accountability ranking tied New Mexico for seventh with Florida, South Carolina and Kentucky with a score of 94 out of 100. Nine states received A's. The state has specific standards for English, math and science in elementary through high school and uses the information to rate schools.
New Mexico placed 17th on the teacher quality ranking, tying with New York, West Virginia, Missouri and New Jersey with a score of 81. Education Week cited the state's new three-tiered licensure system in which teachers pass tests to get advanced certifications and earn higher pay.
New Mexico got a C-plus on school climate, tying with Idaho, Iowa, Arkansas and Utah with a score of 78.
The report said New Mexico schools report more physical conflicts among students and a lack of parental involvement than other states, but gave the state credit for being one of 17 states that surveys parents, teachers or students about the school climate.
The state ranked 13th on a standard of equity among districts and fifth on an index that measures what it would cost to bring student spending in districts below the median up to that level. But it ranked 40th out of the 50 states for having wide discrepancies in spending across its school districts.
Gov. Bill Richardson has said he'd like to devote $9 million to start a pre-kindergarten program in New Mexico — a two-year, exploratory program offering voluntary preschool to kids who otherwise would not have access.
The idea has met resistance from spending-wary lawmakers and private providers of preschool who fear they will be put out of business by public-funded programs.
Rep. Terry Marquardt, R-Alamogordo, said Wednesday that New Mexico can be proud of the accomplishments cited in the Quality Counts report, but said New Mexico must to spend its education dollars where they already are needed — in kindergarten through high school.
Marquardt pointed out the state was last in the nation in eighth-grade reading scores in 2003 and 49th in fourth-grade reading and math and eighth-grade math.
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