New Mexico students continue to struggle since pandemic, national test scores show
Jan. 29—New Mexico students, including those in Albuquerque, have not recovered academically from the pandemic, according to newly released test scores often called "The Nation's Report Card."
The scores released Wednesday from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show declines in reading and math scores among fourth grade and eighth grade students in the state between 2024 and 2019.
NAEP, a congressionally mandated assessment for decades, assesses how students perform over time. The test is administered every two years during the spring semester to a representative sample of students in each state. Students took the NAEP digitally for the first time in 2024, according to Albuquerque Public Schools Board President Danielle Gonzales, who sits on the board for the test.
"I think across the board, it's just bad news; it's just sobering and disheartening and should be a wake-up call to everybody," Gonzales said.
Eighth graders in the state saw a 13-point decline in their math scores between 2019 and 2024. Fourth graders saw a 7-point decline in math scores during the same time period.
Fourth graders and eighth graders in the state saw their reading scores on the assessment decline by 7 points between 2019 and 2024.
In Albuquerque, the declines did not reach the double digits, but showed APS students' struggles since the pandemic. Fourth graders saw their NAEP reading scores decline by 7 points between 2019 and 2024, while eighth graders saw a 5-point decline in their reading scores on the assessment over the same time period.
APS fourth graders saw their math proficiency decline from 30% to 26% over a five-year period since 2024. Eighth graders declined in math proficiency by three points, from 20% to 17%, over the same time period.
Overall, in math, fourth and eighth graders in New Mexico only outperformed Puerto Rico, according to NAEP data.
Eighth graders in the state tied for last in reading with Oklahoma, West Virginia and Alaska, the data said.
But for APS students, there was some good news when their NAEP scores were compared to 26 large urban districts included in the Trial Urban Districts Assessment, commonly known as TUDA. APS tied for second in eighth-grade reading.
While the U.S. Department of Education called the nationwide scores "heartbreaking" and New Mexico activist groups expressed concern for being "dead last once again," Albuquerque Public Schools said in a news release on Wednesday that the school district's NAEP scores have not significantly increased or declined since 2022 or 2019.
APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey called the results "important" to use as "another data point we can use to look at progress." Blakey was unavailable for comment Wednesday, according to APS spokesperson Martin Salazar.
Gonzales said the NAEP scores should be "taken seriously," but the declines should not be blamed solely on the pandemic because she saw declines before that time.
The data's release comes against the backdrop of low student outcomes despite the state's record funding to education in recent years. The New Mexico Public Education Department is asking lawmakers for more than $5.5 billion this year. Hope Morales, executive director of Teach Plus New Mexico, a nonprofit, took aim at lawmakers on Wednesday following the scores' release.
"While our state should be commended for its record-breaking funding of education, these results show that we must do much more," Morales said in a statement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
GOP lawmaker presses for de-escalation in LA
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) on Tuesday called for de-escalation in downtown Los Angeles following the federal troop deployment to quell protests. In an interview on NewsNation's 'The Hill,' the moderate Republican said the massive show of force in L.A. is important to send a message against 'lawlessness' in the city but that the situation should de-escalate going forward. Asked about the 'rules of engagement' for the 700 active-duty U.S. Marines deployed to the L.A. area, Gonzales stressed that they are there as a 'support mechanism' for the law enforcement and federal agents on the ground. He also said the Marines contributed to 'the overwhelming force to be able to go, 'This is not going to be tolerated. Lawlessness will not be tolerated in our country.'' 'But we also need to de-escalate things right after you've accomplished that. Now you de-escalate. Now you start to, you know, you start to calm things down,' Gonzales added. Gonzales said lawmakers and others with public platforms can play a role in toning things down. 'Those of us in the political arena, we need to do that. We need to get back to going, 'Wait a second here. We can have laws. We can also have protests. Let's do it peacefully. Let's calm the jets and let's go back to our corners,'' he added. Gonzales — who represents the largest stretch of the U.S. southern border — said it's important for Republicans to focus on deporting convicted criminals, both in practice and in messaging. 'I'm all about somebody protesting — whether you agree with it or don't agree with it — that's what we need. Perfectly okay with that. But burning a city to the ground? I don't want to see that happen in L.A. I don't want to see that happen anywhere else. 'So to me, what brings us together is if we focus on convicted criminal illegal aliens. There's over 600,000 of those people in our country,' he added. Gonzales was asked about concerns that individuals getting caught up in immigration enforcement operations are not only convicted criminals, but also people who have not committed any violent crime. He said 'details matter' and said he'd continue pressing for more information about who the individuals are that are getting swept up in so-called ICE raids. 'I've talked to DHS officials, and I've asked for — and there'll be more of this — I've asked for, well, who are the people that are apprehended? Are they, indeed, these convicted criminals? Are they somebody who overstayed their visa, or are they somebody who, you know, finished their adjudication process and were denied? Like, who are they?' 'I want to get the breakdown of it,' he continued. 'But once again, those are more sensitive cases. If you're focused on going after the convicted criminal, everybody gets behind you.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
8 hours ago
- The Hill
GOP lawmaker presses for de-escalation in LA
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) on Tuesday called for de-escalation in downtown Los Angeles following the federal troop deployment to quell protests. In an interview on NewsNation's 'The Hill,' the moderate Republican said the massive show of force in L.A. is important to send a message against 'lawlessness' in the city but that the situation should de-escalate going forward. Asked about the 'rules of engagement' for the 700 active-duty U.S. Marines deployed to the L.A. area, Gonzales stressed that they are there as a 'support mechanism' for the law enforcement and federal agents on the ground. He also said the Marines contributed to 'the overwhelming force to be able to go, 'This is not going to be tolerated. Lawlessness will not be tolerated in our country.'' 'But we also need to de-escalate things right after you've accomplished that. Now you de-escalate. Now you start to, you know, you start to calm things down,' Gonzales added. Gonzales said lawmakers and others with public platforms can play a role in toning things down. 'Those of us in the political arena, we need to do that. We need to get back to going, 'Wait a second here. We can have laws. We can also have protests. Let's do it peacefully. Let's calm the jets and let's go back to our corners,'' he added. Gonzales — who represents the largest stretch of the U.S. southern border — said it's important for Republicans to focus on deporting convicted criminals, both in practice and in messaging. 'I'm all about somebody protesting — whether you agree with it or don't agree with it — that's what we need. Perfectly okay with that. But burning a city to the ground? I don't want to see that happen in L.A. I don't want to see that happen anywhere else. 'So to me, what brings us together is if we focus on convicted criminal illegal aliens. There's over 600,000 of those people in our country,' he added. Gonzales was asked about concerns that individuals getting caught up in immigration enforcement operations are not only convicted criminals, but also people who have not committed any violent crime. He said 'details matter' and said he'd continue pressing for more information about who the individuals are that are getting swept up in so-called ICE raids. 'I've talked to DHS officials, and I've asked for — and there'll be more of this — I've asked for, well, who are the people that are apprehended? Are they, indeed, these convicted criminals? Are they somebody who overstayed their visa, or are they somebody who, you know, finished their adjudication process and were denied? Like, who are they?' 'I want to get the breakdown of it,' he continued. 'But once again, those are more sensitive cases. If you're focused on going after the convicted criminal, everybody gets behind you.'
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
State budget questions have impact on APS budget process
Jun. 10—Editor's Note: This story will be updated as more information becomes available. The Minnesota State Legislature was able to get its budget wrapped up during a furious one-day special session, but the delay in the lead-up already had uncertain repercussions on the process of Austin Public Schools budget. Slated to present a plan Monday night during the Austin Public School Board's meeting, Executive Director of Finance and Operations Todd Lechtenberg informed the board that budget finalization would come later because there was so much uncertainty at the state level and its budget. "We just have too many moving parts," Lechtenberg told the board, after going through some of the things known and unknown. The Legislature's K-12 education bill would increase funding for Minnesota schools by $4.2 million in the 2026-27 biennium, however, the bill calls for $420 million in general education funding cuts in the following biennium. While there will be some work to dig through and see what the budget ultimately consists of and its effects on APS, some of the things already in the budget included reductions in three different areas. Compensatory aid modifications could decrease revenue by around $277,136, though Lechtenberg did say that is down from what it was in the beginning at around a $1.1 million decrease. However, this is a one-time reprieve and a task force is currently being formed to address this point. Announced late Monday night, the bill would also call for a 10% cut in transportation funding for students with disabilities by fiscal year 2027, resulting in a 5% decrease in special ed transportation aid for districts in 2026. That cut would further reduce 90% coverage in 2027. This cost was 100% covered in the past. The state's education bill would also cut school library aid by $19.62 million in fiscal years 2026-27, which could reduce the impact to APS by around $31,537. However, at the same time the summer unemployment coverage was expected to be continued through 2028. Lechtenberg also pointed to several things that further add to the unknown of APS's budget including what the effects will be of the Minnesota Paid Leave legislation, which will kick into effect on Jan. 1 There will also be the impact of union settlements which are still in the process of being negotiated, the impacts of tariffs enacted by the Trump Administration, a potential district referendum and federal funding. In particular, the federal funding question revolves around title funding. The district has already received its Title 1 and Title 4 funding, but they don't know the dollar amounts for Title 2 and Title 3 funding yet. Also factored into the budget discussions will be the impact of a lower than estimated projected district enrollment, though that could be mitigated somewhat by a state aid increase to $7,481 per student representing a 2.74% increase. The district will pick up the budget discussion again on June 24, and are required to finalize the budget by June 30. In other news: Board members adopted a 14% increase to its medical insurance renewal in order to keep up with expected claims for the 2025-2026 school year as well as a 3% increase to do the same. According to Lechtenberg, the district was operating at 112% and 142% lost ratio for the 12-month spans of April 2024 to March 2025 and April 2023 to March 2024 respectively. However, the increase is a step down from last year when the district instituted a 24% increase.
