Making the grade
Overall, APS slipped this year, but district’s high schools fared better
Albuquerque Public Schools slid downward overall in the latest round of school grades, but the district’s high schools are a bright spot. Five out of 13 APS high schools improved by at least one letter grade and six held steady, according to ratings released by the Public Education Department last month.
Albuquerque High’s and Highland High’s scores declined by a grade because fewer than 95 percent of their students participated in standardized testing. PED automatically drops school grades by one level if they don’t meet this threshold.
Without the participation penalty, APS would not
have any F-level high schools this year.
“Our high schools are working hard to improve academic outcomes for all students,” Superintendent Raquel Reedy said in a statement. “The improved school grade at several of our schools is an indication of that progress. We will continue to provide resources and support for schools, so that more of our students are successful and ultimately prepared to graduate and move on to higher education, prosperous careers and full lives.”
At the high school level, APS schools earned two A’s, three B’s, five C’s, two D’s and one F, when factoring in the participation penalty.
It’s a success for a district that struggled in other areas.
Overall, 34 percent of Albuquerque’s schools received F grades in the latest state report, up from 25 percent in 2016. Across the state, 16 percent of public schools received failing grades, up from 13 percent in 2016.
In the latest round of school grading, 56 of New Mexico’s 89 public school districts received no F’s.
The major factor in a school’s grade is test results, including the Partnership for Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC. At the high school level, test score growth makes up 40 percent of the total grade; overall proficiency counts for 20 percent.
PED has been gradually increasing the importance of student proficiency. Two years ago, it made up just 10 percent of the high school grade. In 2019, proficiency will go up to 25 percent of the high school grade.
High school grades also include a college and career readiness metric that considers factors like the graduation rate, Advanced Placement testing and dual-credit enrollment.
New Mexico’s graduation rate reached a record high in 2016 — 71 percent of students earned their caps and gowns, up two percentage points from 2015.
Secretary of Education-designate Christopher Ruszkowski said many high schools across the state are making positive strides.
Santa Fe: Santa Fe High rose from an F to a C; Capital High from a D to a C.
Las Cruces: The district’s high schools earned one A, one B and two C’s — overall, the same as 2016.
Rio Rancho: Rio Rancho High School slipped to a B after earning a string of A’s. V. Sue Cleveland High continues to be an A-level school.
PED spokeswoman Lida Alikhani told the Journal that New Mexico’s students have consistently improved to meet higher standards.
“From Farmington to Alamogordo to Gadsden, school districts across the state that embrace reform and opportunity are improving educational outcomes for the children in their classrooms,” she said in a statement. “School improvement is a choice that every school and district can make — and when schools and districts are struggling, parents and families shouldn’t be required to wait and hope.”
One school’s success
At Del Norte High, Principal Jo Sloan celebrated her school’s improvement from an F to a C over the past year.
The high-poverty school at Montgomery and San Mateo NE received a test participation penalty in 2016, which reduced its grade from a D to an F.
This year, Del Norte met the test participation requirement and saw growth in math scores and college and career readiness.
Sloan said she believes the improvement comes down to persistence and hard work.
Del Norte staff are devoting more time to test preparation and student advising, she said, and more kids are taking advantage of “Saturday school,” which provides free tutoring and access to a computer lab. AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination, an international program, teaches students study skills, organization, goal setting and college application steps.
Chris Welsh, dean of students, said it’s important for teachers to help students understand the connection between succeeding in school and building a good future.
“We have to get buy-in,” Welsh said. “School has to be a priority in your life.”
Sloan said she is encouraged by the improvement, but there is a long way to go.
Only 55 percent of Del Norte students are graduating on time and attendance is an issue.
Sloan said the school’s low 2016 test participation was driven by truancy, not a coordinated opt-out movement.
“We are trying to make sure kids are here consistently,” she said. “It is easy to leave campus. You can get on a bus and get anywhere in the city.”
Sloan said Del Norte needs to work on its overall test scores and graduation rate to earn a better grade.
She acknowledged that the school grade process is nerve-wracking.
“When you get that F, it’s like a pillow and you just squeezed all the air out,” she said. “People are really disheartened.”
Welsh stressed that Del Norte teachers and staff are always working very hard, even when they receive a low school grade.
“This is nonstop — they just give it all,” he said.
PED’s school grade system has been subject to controversy, particularly its strong focus on test scores.
The state’s teachers unions oppose what they call a “test and punish” system.
Ruszkowski said the grades are a valuable tool for parents to see how their children’s schools are performing.
American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Stephanie Ly countered that it is “impossible to shame our way to success.”
“The continued use of school grades willfully ignores important factors such as child poverty, overtesting, and limited access to early education opportunities,” she said in a statement.