SANTA FE
Fewer New Mexico’s
schools reached targets for improving academic performance and student
participation standards this year than in 2006, the Public Education Department
said Friday.
A total of 464 schools, or 58 percent, missed the goal of
making “adequate yearly progress” under the federal No Child Left
Behind Act. About 334 percent, or 42 percent, achieved the objective.
Last year, 367 schools met the state-established targets for
improving student achievement and 433 schools, or 54 percent, didn’t.
Schools are evaluated mainly on student performance and
participation in math and reading tests administered in grades 3-9 and grade
11. Other factors in the ratings are graduation rates for high schools and
attendance rates for elementary and middle schools.
Under the federal law, states are to increase their
performance targets each year until 100 percent of students are proficient on
tests by the 2013-14 school year.
To make the adequate yearly progress goal, for example, a
school with kindergarten through 8th grade needed 45 percent of its students at
proficiency or above in reading up from 41 percent last year. Twenty-four
percent needed to meet the performance standard in math, up from 19 percent
last year.