Teacher Preparation Program Accountability:
New Mexico

Analysis of New Mexico's policies

New Mexico's approval process for its traditional and alternate route teacher preparation programs is moving in the right direction to hold programs accountable for the quality of the teachers they produce.

The state has announced plans to collect and report data that connect student achievement gains to teacher preparation programs in the future.

In addition, New Mexico is required to produce an annual educator accountability report. This report must include a number of data including, but not limited to, indicators that show how a program is working to increase student achievement for all students, teacher retention, the percentage of candidates who pass the New Mexico teacher assessment for initial licensure on the first attempt, the percentage of secondary and elementary core academic classes taught by teachers who demonstrate subject-mastery by means of a rigorous content area assessment, and the number of teachers trained in math, science and technology.

The state does not yet have a policy that applies transparent, measurable criteria for conferring program approval. New Mexico does collect programs' annual summary licensure test pass rates (80 percent of program completers must pass their licensure exams). However, the 80 percent pass-rate standard, while common among many states, sets the bar quite low and is not a meaningful measure of program performance.

Further, in the past three years, no programs in the state have been identified as low performing—an additional indicator that programs currently lack accountability. 

In New Mexico, the state maintains full authority over teacher preparation program approval. The state also conducts its own program reviews.

Citation

Section 22-10A-19.2 NMSA http://www.abqjournal.com/413787/news/states-colleges-of-education-to-be-evaluated-next-year.html http://governor.state.nm.us/uploads/PressRelease/191a415014634aa89604e0b4790e4768/Governor_Susana_Martinez_Announces_Critical_Reforms_to_Support_Teacher_Preparation_in_New_Mexico.pdf New Mexico Administrative Code 6.65.2 Title II State Reports https://title2.ed.gov

Recommendations for New Mexico

Collect data that connect student achievement gains to teacher preparation programs. 
It is commendable that New Mexico is going to collect preparation programs' graduates' performance on in-classroom evaluations. As the state embarks on this work, it should consider the academic achievement gains of students taught by programs' graduates, averaged over the first three years of teaching. Data that are aggregated to the institution (e.g., combining elementary and secondary programs) rather than disaggregated to the specific preparation program are not useful for accountability purposes. Such aggregation can mask significant differences in performance among programs.

Establish the minimum standard of performance for each category of data. 
As New Mexico begins collecting program data for the approval process, the next and perhaps more critical step is for the state to establish precise minimum standards for teacher preparation program performance for each category of data. New Mexico should be mindful of setting rigorous standards for program performance, as its current requirement that 80 percent of program graduates pass the state's licensing tests is too low a bar. Programs should be held accountable for meeting rigorous standards, and there should be consequences for failing to do so, including loss of program approval.

State response to our analysis

New Mexico was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts necessary for this analysis.