Low test participation tied to D grade for APS
Superintendent says PARCC opt-outs cut grade from C
Superintendent Raquel Reedy sent an email to all Albuquerque Public Schools employees Friday stressing that the district actually earned C’s in the last two years of district grading, but was dropped to D’s due to low participation on the PARCC exam.
Under state regulations, schools automatically lose a grade if fewer than 95 percent of students take the controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test.
This year, 17 APS schools fell a grade because they did not meet the 95 percent requirement, which impacted the district’s overall rating.
“It’s a bit of a dilemma for us,” Reedy wrote in the email. “While we respect the rights of families to make decisions they feel are in the best interest of their children, we also recognize that not taking the test has a direct impact on school — and district — grades.”
She compared the participation penalty to “earning a C on a paper, but getting a D because you wrote in pencil instead of pen as required by the teacher.”
In an interview with the Journal, Reedy said she knows the New Mexico Public Education Department has to monitor PARCC participation, but it is unfortunate that test opt-outs can lead to a full grade drop.
“The fact is, this is the way the state
is assessing schools, and I just wanted to make sure that it was clear as far as where we stood academically,” she said. “That was the reason for this email, so everyone knows the full story.”
Without the PARCC penalty, APS would have earned C’s for five straight years, placing it in the middle of the pack for New Mexico’s large districts.
Neighboring Rio Rancho Public Schools received a B this year, as did Farmington Municipal Schools. Las Cruces Public Schools and Gallup McKinley County Schools both got C’s. Santa Fe Public Schools earned a D.
Three districts lost grades due to low test participation — APS, Logan Municipal Schools and West Las Vegas public schools.
Opt-out advocates have criticized the practice of dropping school and district grades, calling it is a scare tactic that interferes with parents’ ability to guide their children’s educations. PARCC, a math and English assessment administered in grades 3 to 11, has drawn particular ire, sparking protests and walkouts when it was introduced in 2015.
PED spokesman Robert McEntyre defended the 95 percent participation rule and the school grading system in an emailed statement.
“Every parent and teacher deserves to know if their kids are on track in school, and it’s important that all of our students — regardless of their background or ZIP code — have the opportunity to show their progress,” he said. “Rather than opposing valuable tools for keeping parents informed, APS should focus more of their energy on helping students, teachers, and schools succeed.”
Reedy told the Journal that she is taking the district grade seriously and considering new ways to improve, including principal mentorship, magnet schools and dual-language offerings.
“This information that comes with the report is a snapshot in time,” she said. “It is good information and it gives us data that can help us.”