NM Public Education Department Releases 2017 PARCC Scores

Santa Fe, NM –On Tuesday, July 25, 2017, the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) released the spring 2017 results of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).

This year, Santa Fe Public Schools (SFPS) increased the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations in English Language Arts (ELA) with some schools seeing increases as high as 10 percentage points, and currently, the percentage of SFPS students who meet or exceed expectations in 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 9th grade ELA exceeds the state average. District-wide math proficiency  remained the same, with pockets of significant growth as some schools saw double digit percentage point increases.

Dr. Veronica C. Garcia, superintendent of schools, stated, “This year, we focused on empowering our employees as educational professionals. While we believe proficiency on the PARCC assessment is important, this year the District encouraged our educators to focus on sound teaching practices with the idea that success on the test would be a byproduct of their work. Every department in the District focused on supporting our schools. The increase in ELA proficiency across the district is first and foremost a testament to their hard work. Sound teaching and learning were, and will continue to be, our major priority.

“While we are not yet where we need to be, I am encouraged by the district-wide 2.5 percentage point increase in students proficient in ELA. This rate of improvement is sustainable as we work to ensure all of our graduates are truly prepared for college and career.

“While our math results indicate we have a long way to go, I am confident in our educators and our leadership team. This year we will fully implement methods of support to assist our math educators in making data-driven decisions and designing lessons that address the needs of our students. The District will also increase the use of math tutors and I will create a math taskforce in partnership with the Interfaith Coalition for Public Education’s Birth 2 Career collaborative working group, the Math Amigos. In the end, as long as we provide our educators the tools they need to be successful and keep the focus on sound teaching, I am sure we will see growth next year.”

The following schools increased the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations in both ELA and math:

Percentage Point Increase in Students Meeting or Exceeding Expectations SY 2015-16 to SY 2016-17

School	English Language Arts	Math
Capital High School	+6.3	+2.0
Cesar Chavez Elementary	+5.9	+4.1
Chaparral Elementary	+8.9	+3.1
DeVargas Middle	+0.4	+3.8
Gonzales Community	+3.2	+3.6
Mandela International Magnet	+13.6	+11.0
Nava Elementary	+10.0	+5.3
Ortiz Middle	+1.9	+0.8
Pinon Elementary	+7.4	+1.2
Santa Fe High School	+8.0	+1.1
Sweeney Elementary	+0.1	+2.1

Other notable accomplishments:

• Atalaya Elementary increased the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations in math by 12.2 percentage points.
• Mandela International Magnet School and Nava Elementary made double digit gains in the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations on the ELA assessment (13.6% and 10 % respectively)

For more information about the PARCC assessment as well as resources for parents, please visit http://newmexicocommoncore.org/parents or http://www.parcconline.org/resources/parent-resources