Rising Graduation Rates a True Apples-to-Apples Comparison?
January 25, 2013
Governor Susana Martinez and Hanna Skandera, Martinez’s education secretary-designate, held a press conference yesterday to tout the rise in graduation rates for the 2011-2012 school year across New Mexico.
Rising graduation rates are a good thing. Especially in a state with historically low graduation rates. However, there may be a wrinkle in the comparison between 2011-2012 school graduation rates ant the prior year’s. Raising the question, are the numbers touted by the administration an apples-to-apples comparison with the previous year’s graduation rates?
During the 2011 regular legislative session, Senator Cynthia Nava introduced a bill, SB 360, which was signed into law by Governor Martinez, titled, “Relating to Financial Solvency; Suspending the Requirements for Certain Student Assessments for the 2011-2012 School Year.” The purpose of the bill was to save money by suspending the requirement that local school districts administer certain student assessment exams.
Under the bill “a student who has completed the course requirements for high school graduation in the 2011-2012 school year may graduate without demonstrating competence in required subject areas on the standards-based assessment or assessments or a portfolio of standards-based indicators”. Thus, no SBA exams were administered to twelfth-graders for the 2011-2012 school year.
Under NMSA 1978 Section 22-13-1.1, which details graduation requirement for New Mexico seniors, item (M) states that students are required to demonstrate competency in standards-based assessment or assessments in order to receive a New Mexico high school diploma.
Whether eliminating these pre-graduation standards-based assessment tests would alter the graduation rate is something that would require access to and evaluation of extensive education records. However, it is logical that not every student who scores D’s in classwork would necessarily demonstrate competency in standards-based assessment exams.
Thus, raising the question that some or part of the increase in graduation rates touted so heavily by Martinez and Skandera are reflective of there being no competency exams given to twelfth-graders in the 2011-2012 school year.
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January 25, 2013
Governor Susana Martinez and Hanna Skandera, Martinez’s education secretary-designate, held a press conference yesterday to tout the rise in graduation rates for the 2011-2012 school year across New Mexico.
Rising graduation rates are a good thing. Especially in a state with historically low graduation rates. However, there may be a wrinkle in the comparison between 2011-2012 school graduation rates ant the prior year’s. Raising the question, are the numbers touted by the administration an apples-to-apples comparison with the previous year’s graduation rates?
During the 2011 regular legislative session, Senator Cynthia Nava introduced a bill, SB 360, which was signed into law by Governor Martinez, titled, “Relating to Financial Solvency; Suspending the Requirements for Certain Student Assessments for the 2011-2012 School Year.” The purpose of the bill was to save money by suspending the requirement that local school districts administer certain student assessment exams.
Under the bill “a student who has completed the course requirements for high school graduation in the 2011-2012 school year may graduate without demonstrating competence in required subject areas on the standards-based assessment or assessments or a portfolio of standards-based indicators”. Thus, no SBA exams were administered to twelfth-graders for the 2011-2012 school year.
Under NMSA 1978 Section 22-13-1.1, which details graduation requirement for New Mexico seniors, item (M) states that students are required to demonstrate competency in standards-based assessment or assessments in order to receive a New Mexico high school diploma.
Whether eliminating these pre-graduation standards-based assessment tests would alter the graduation rate is something that would require access to and evaluation of extensive education records. However, it is logical that not every student who scores D’s in classwork would necessarily demonstrate competency in standards-based assessment exams.
Thus, raising the question that some or part of the increase in graduation rates touted so heavily by Martinez and Skandera are reflective of there being no competency exams given to twelfth-graders in the 2011-2012 school year.
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