The average high school graduation rate in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 83 percent in the 2014-2015 school year. On Monday, New Mexico announced a record graduation rate of 71 percent for the class of 2016. In this press release, the office of the New Mexico Governor provided additional details and a link to rates in individual districts:
Today, Governor Susana Martinez announced that more students are graduating high school than ever before. The class of 2016 set an all-time high graduation rate at 71 percent – an eight percentage point increase since 2011. Graduation rates also increased for New Mexico’s Hispanic, African-American, low-income and disabled students.
“With more students graduating high school than ever before, New Mexico is better preparing our kids to enter the workforce, college and beyond,” Governor Martinez said. “When we raise the bar and give our kids the resources they need to succeed, they always rise to the occasion. We still have a lot of work to do, and it starts by protecting classroom spending and stopping the failed practice of passing our kids from grade to grade when they cannot read.”
School districts in communities large and small throughout New Mexico are seeing more students graduate. Graduation rates increased in 48 of the state’s 89 school districts in 2016. Districts such as Ruidoso, Taos and Carlsbad saw their rates increase by 10 percentage points or more, and Reserve Public Schools saw the largest increase of more than 43 percentage points compared to last year. Each of New Mexico’s five largest districts – Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Gadsden, Santa Fe and Rio Rancho – also saw increases.
“This is great progress for our students,” said New Mexico Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera. “Over the last six years, New Mexico has invested more in education than ever before, including investments to keep kids in school and on track to graduate. Ultimately, the best foundation for success is early on, and that’s why we have to stop promoting our students from grade to grade when they are not able to read.”
Governor Martinez and her administration will continue pushing for reforms that are helping improve achievement for New Mexico’s students. Among others, these include:
- Ending the failed practice of passing New Mexico kids from grade to grade when they cannot read;
- Protecting classroom spending that invests in tools that help struggling students and schools, like reading coaches, mentorship programs for teachers and principals, and early childhood development;
- Cracking down on truancy – students who are habitually truant from school should have their driving permits or licenses suspended;
- Inviting professionals with PhDs in areas like math, science, and others from New Mexico’s national labs into our schools to teach;
- Requiring every school employee to go through a background check
Since taking office in 2011, Governor Martinez continues to work to strengthen New Mexico’s schools and give every New Mexico child a chance to succeed in life. Through the reforms championed by the Governor and her administration, New Mexico now grades schools so parents have more information on how they stack up. Governor Martinez has also increased classroom spending more than ever before, and more than tripled investment in pre-K. As a result of increased classroom spending, among other accomplishments, teachers and principals have improved support and professional development through mentorship programs and other resources, and dropout coaches and social workers are in more schools to keep kids on track to graduate.
Graduation rates by district and school are posted online at the PED website:http://ped.state.nm.us/