This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Michael Timms, Jessica A. Nodulman, Eric Rolfhus, Micah Ann Wixom, Northwest Evaluation Association, Janet Freeman, LaVinia Pauline Snowball, Stephen Wall, W. Gill Woodall, and New Mexico Higher Education Department.
(2013). New Mexico Higher Education Department Annual Report, 2013. The performance of higher education in New Mexico–measured by cost-efficiency, degree production, graduation rates, and a host of other metrics–remains exceptionally low in comparison with all but two or three other states. For most of the 2013 calendar year the Higher Education Department worked on various fronts to address the most pressing issues. Most prominent among these were the funding formula and the fate of the Lottery Scholarship. The new performance-based funding formula, written by the Higher Education Department in 2011 with the collaboration of the institutions of higher learning, rewards institutions for improving their performance in granting certificates and degrees. Additional rewards are given for awarding certificates and degrees to at-risk students and in STEMH fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and health). Unfortunately, the legislature did not adhere to the Higher Education funding formula in rewarding institutions according to their relative performance. During much of 2013 the Department focused on making a number of significant improvements to the formula, and on communicating more effectively with members of the boards of regents and governing boards about the need for serious performance based funding. While the data show improvement in degree production in the past three years, STEMH production in 2012-2013 was down compared with the previous academic year, and it seems unlikely a significant shift in degree productivity will occur until institutions know they will not be rewarded in their budgets except through improvement. A major hindrance to a college education is the inability to pay rising costs. Until 2013, recent high school graduates could rely upon the Legislative Lottery Scholarship. However, that fund is no longer adequate to provide assistance to all New Mexico college students. In 2013, a work group comprised of legislative representatives, college students, representatives from the state's higher education institutions and others met to create recommendations to the lottery fund shortfall. A number of recommendations came out of this work group, however the group as a whole did not endorse any recommendations to present to the legislature. This 2013 annual report provides updates and statistics from the following departments: (1) Planning and Research Division; (2) Financial Aid Division; (3) Adult Basic Education Division; (4) Indian Education Division; (5) NMHED GEAR UP Division; (6) Private and Proprietary Schools (PPS) Division; (7) P-20 Division; (8) Institutional Finance Division; and (9) Capital Projects Division. [More] Descriptors: Higher Education, Annual Reports, Enrollment Trends, Academic Persistence
(2006). The Condition of Higher Education in New Mexico, 2005-2006. This document reports on data collected by the New Mexico Higher Education Department, providing the status of higher education as of the Fall 2005 semester and makes comparisons to prior year data to calculate change rates. The emphasis of the New Mexico Higher Education Department is to create policy to improve access to educational opportunities for students, as well as to improve success once they have entered the doors of state post-secondary institutions. Enrollment at New Mexico's public institutions of higher education is relatively flat with an overall enrollment increase of less than 1% from Fall 2004 to Fall 2005, with a 1.4% increase in the two-year sector, and a less than 1% decrease at the state's universities. Recent projections of high school graduates in the state, provided by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), suggest enrollment will remain flat. In the 2004-2005 academic year, New Mexico's post-secondary students received $446 million in financial assistance; of that amount, 72% was from federal sources, 14% was from state sources, and 12% was from private/institutional sources. In the 2005-2006 academic year, New Mexico's post-secondary students received just over $461 million in financial assistance, an increase of 3% over the previous year. Seventy-one percent, or $325 million of these funds are attributed to federal sources. State contribution of $70 million (16%), institutional aid and private or other external source contribution of $57 million (13%) also provided significant support. Data tables contain further detail on each of these areas. (Contains 12 figures and 44 tables.) [This document was produced by the New Mexico Higher Education Department. For 2004 report, see ED500278. For 2002 report, see ED482315; for 2001 report, see ED482316.] [More] Descriptors: Higher Education, High School Graduates, Educational Opportunities, Comparative Analysis
(2015). Investigating Stakeholder Attitudes and Opinions on School-Based Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Programs, Journal of School Health. Background: In several countries worldwide, school-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs have been successful; however, little research has explored US stakeholders' acceptance toward school-based HPV vaccination programs. Methods: A total of 13 focus groups and 12 key informant interviews (N?=?117; 85% females; 66% racial/ethnic minority) were conducted with 5 groups of stakeholders: parents of adolescent girls, parents of adolescent boys, adolescent girls, middle school nurses, and middle school administrators throughout the 5 public health regions of New Mexico. Results: All groups of stakeholders lacked knowledge on HPV and HPV vaccines. Stakeholders were interested in–but apprehensive about–the benefits of HPV vaccination. Despite previous literature showing the benefits of using middle schools as an HPV vaccination site, stakeholders did not deem middle schools as a viable site for vaccination. Nurses reported that using the school as an HPV vaccination site had not occurred to them; parents and adolescents stated they were uncertain about using this type of program. School administrators indicated that they lacked implementation authority. Conclusions: Our study uncovered barriers to using middle schools as a site of HPV vaccination. Resources should be directed toward increased support and education for middle school nurses who function as opinion leaders relevant to the uptake of HPV vaccination. [More] Descriptors: Communicable Diseases, Immunization Programs, Stakeholders, Attitudes
(2015). Trends in Teacher Certification: Equipping Teachers to Prepare Proficient Readers, Education Commission of the States. Ensuring that students are reading proficiently by third grade is a key component of keeping students on track to graduate high school and pursue college and careers. Because of the magnitude of this academic milestone, states typically pursue policies that promote early identification and intervention for struggling readers. However, teachers are the most important school-based factor in student success. To ensure that teachers are well-prepared to guide students toward meeting the critical milestone of reading proficiency by third grade, states have begun to require that teacher candidates pass a reading instruction-specific assessment prior to licensure. These assessments address the science of reading instruction and target early childhood and elementary teacher candidates. States are expanding policies that hold teachers and teacher-preparation programs accountable for student success. Requiring rigorous, content-specific assessments prior to licensure is part of a broader trend of holding teachers to higher standards, requiring greater transparency in teacher-preparation programs and modernizing the teaching profession. Fourteen states require teacher candidates to demonstrate knowledge of the science of reading instruction on a stand-alone assessment prior to licensure. Six states use a state or as-yet unspecified test (California, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia). Five states use the Foundations of Reading test (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Wisconsin). Three states use the Praxis Teaching Reading test (Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia). [More] Descriptors: Educational Trends, Teacher Certification, Reading Instruction, Teacher Competency Testing
(2007). Aligning Science Assessment Standards: New Mexico and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Issues & Answers. REL 2007-No. 021, Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest (NJ1). This policy research document is intended for New Mexico policymakers to use when examining possible changes to the state assessment's alignment with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The 2009 NAEP test is not yet in existence, so the purpose of this report is to give policymakers a head start in determining where they might, if they so decide, begin to make changes in their assessment standards and specifications to develop an assessment system more closely aligned with that used for the NAEP. Overall, reviewers found New Mexico's science assessment framework to be fairly well aligned with the NAEP framework. For grade 4, all NAEP content items are to some degree addressed by New Mexico's science assessment framework, with no ratings of 1 and an overall alignment rating of 2.2 (a rating of 1 indicates no alignment and a rating of 3, full alignment). For grade 8 the majority of NAEP content statements are partially aligned with the content in the New Mexico science assessment framework, and the overall alignment rating is 2.1, mostly because the NAEP standards typically contain more detail and more specific content than the corresponding New Mexico standards. In the comparison with NAEP grade 12, New Mexico was given an overall alignment rating of 2.3, indicating a fairly high degree of alignment; only two NAEP content statements are not addressed by corresponding New Mexico standards. A rating of partial alignment between New Mexico and the NAEP was due primarily to reviewers finding that the state often implied content that was stated explicitly by the NAEP and that the NAEP often provided more specific content items or more detail. However, reviewers believed that New Mexico was, on the whole, fairly well aligned with the NAEP. This report reveals current alignment issues between the state's tests and the future NAEP tests and may be important to policymakers who are considering revising science standards and assessments in line with No Child Left Behind requirements for state science tests in elementary, middle, and high schools. If state policymakers wish to increase the alignment between the state assessments and the NAEP, areas to consider are increasing earth and space science coverage in grade 8 and including a wider variety of test item types, such as hands-on and interactive computer tasks. Revising assessments requires considerable time and resources, so policymakers must consider their capacity to make changes and the degree to which such changes will benefit students. The New Mexico test blueprints ensure that testing student knowledge and skills does not rely solely on multiple-choice items by including short and longer constructed-response items. That enables a wider range of knowledge types to be tested than with multiple-choice alone. New Mexico breaks down the content differently from the NAEP (by number of items and number of points), so it is hard to directly compare the relative amounts of testing time devoted to each topic. However, when focusing just on the three topics tested in the NAEP, the New Mexico blueprints are fairly similar to the NAEP at grades 4 and 8, although in grade 8 the NAEP devotes more time to earth and space science than New Mexico does. Comparisons for high school could not be completed, because the grade 11 New Mexico Standards Based Assessment (NMSBA) will not be given until the 2007/08 school year. Overall, there is a reasonable match between the New Mexico test blueprints and the NAEP assessment and item specifications. Standards and test specifications represent the starting point for the development of tests and test items. In the ideal alignment study, state science assessments would be compared with NAEP assessments directly at the item level. At some future date, the NAEP 2009 assessment items may be available for such a study. The following are appended: (1) The documents compared; (2) How the study was conducted; (3) Content alignment table for grade 4; (4) Content alignment table for grade 8; and (5) Content alignment for grade 12. (Contains 1 box, 4 figures, and 16 tables.) [This report was prepared for the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education by Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, formerly known as Southwest Regional Educational Laboratory (SEDL), administered by Edvance Research, Inc.] [More] Descriptors: Science Tests, National Competency Tests, National Standards, State Standards
(2006). Workforce: New Mexico. In New Mexico, the demand for well-educated employees will only increase over the next several years. In the decade leading up to 2012, healthcare occupations will see growth of 32 percent. Teachers will be in high demand: nearly 12,380 educators (including librarians) will need to be hired. Managers will see their ranks swell by 21 percent; when you add in retirements, over 2,310 openings will need to be filled each year. The growth of these sectors is good news for New Mexico's citizens, since wages for jobs in these areas are significantly higher than the average for New Mexico in general. Most positions in these fields will require a bachelor's degree or higher, and the question for New Mexico is how, in a time of tight budgets, to meet the increasing demands on higher education and thereby meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated economy. The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) was launched specifically to address the shortage of workforce-training opportunities in medicine, dentistry, and other professional fields. Today, WICHE offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional options that help the West's states educate and train their citizens, building their economies in the process. WICHE and its 15 member states–Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming-work collaboratively to expand educational access and excellence for all citizens of the West. By promoting innovation, cooperation, resource sharing, and sound public policy among states and institutions, WICHE strengthens higher education's contributions to the region's social, economic, and civic life. This publication presents 3 student exchange programs available to students in New Mexico. They are: (1) The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), which allows students to enroll in out-of-state institutions at a reduced tuition level; (2) Through WICHE's Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP), New Mexico students are studying to be dentists, veterinarians, optometrists, osteopathic physicians, and librarians–In general, at least 60 percent of PSEP students return to their home state to practice; and (3) New Mexico students also participate in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), which offers them the chance to engage in graduate studies and includes 175 distinctive programs in 14 states, such as education, nursing, and business. [More] Descriptors: Student Exchange Programs, Employment Projections, Higher Education, Veterinary Medicine
(2010). Under the IAIA Dome: Acclaimed Filmmaker Inspires Students to Tell Stories with New Media, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. The first thing J. Carlos Peinado tells his students is that every good story begins with a story. Peinado chairs the New Media Arts Department at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA, Santa Fe, New Mexico). He lives what he teaches. Before coming to IAIA, he worked as a professional filmmaker, most recently training his lens on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, where he spent much of his childhood. Peinado sees his experiences, both living at Fort Berthold and later, as a prep and college student on the East Coast, as beneficial to teaching American Indian students. These days, his mission is to turn IAIA's film program into one of the best in the nation. His eye is on a new project–a technological acquisition sure to inspire fresh meaning to the term "new media" arts. Like most great stories, this one starts with a chance encounter. It was 2008, and Peinado was attending an educators' conference at the University of New Mexico (UNM, Albuquerque, New Mexico). There he met Dave Binney, a member of UNM's faculty, who offered to show him the school's dome facility. Quick to see the possibilities for the dome beyond its standard use as a planetarium, Peinado envisioned it as a fantastic storytelling device, a "virtual kiva," whose possibilities he immediately sought to bring to IAIA. He hopes the dome will attract scientists and researchers from all over the state. An important step to ensuring IAIA's New Media Arts Department will experience continued success no matter who sits at the helm. [More] Descriptors: American Indians, American Indian Education, Films, Story Telling
(2015). Producing a Tribal Citizenry Literate in Law and Jurisprudence, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. The relationship between American Indians and the U.S. federal government and state governments is complicated. It is a relationship that controls almost all aspects of tribal life and has resulted in American Indians being the most legislated people in the United States. For many years tribal people relied on non-Native attorneys to help navigate their communities through the maze of laws, court decisions, and administrative rules. As the most legislated people in America, tribal citizens can benefit immensely from a legal education offered from a critical and culturally specific perspective. Tribal colleges are ideally suited for the task. Beginning in the late 1960s, an experimental program at the University of New Mexico School of Law trained Indian lawyers to serve as tribal attorneys, judges, prosecutors, and in other law-related positions. Since that time there have been thousands of Natives who have attained their law degree and have now assumed the responsibility of leading their communities through the legal challenges they face. This article discusses the positive reasons to develop law programs at Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). [More] Descriptors: Law Related Education, Legal Education (Professions), American Indian Education, Culturally Relevant Education
(2015). A Pilot Study of Short Computing Video Tutorials in a Graduate Public Health Biostatistics Course, Journal of Statistics Education. Traditional lecture-centered classrooms are being challenged by active learning hybrid curricula. In small graduate programs with limited resources and primarily non-traditional students, exploring how to use online technology to optimize the role of the professor in the classroom is imperative. However, very little research exists in this area. In this study, the use of short statistical computing video tutorials was explored using a pilot study in a small Public Health Program at the University of New Mexico. The videos were implemented in two Master's-level biostatistics courses and student perception of the videos was assessed using quantitative surveys and qualitative focus groups. The results from 16 survey respondents and 12 focus group participants are presented across the two courses. Viewing rates for the videos were high, with 15 out of 16 respondents reporting usually or always viewing the videos. Overall perception of the videos as a learning tool was positive, with 14 out of 16 respondents agreeing that the videos offer advantages to them. Two prominent themes emerged in our analysis: (1) the usability and convenience of the videos and (2) the deeper learning facilitated by having the videos available.We conclude that the short video tutorials were a useful learning tool in our study population. [More] Descriptors: Pilot Projects, Graduate Students, Statistics, Public Health
(2016). Linking the PARCC Assessments to NWEA MAP Tests for New Mexico. Northwest Evaluation AssociationâÑ¢ (NWEAâÑ¢) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress¬Æ (MAP¬Æ) interim assessment scores. One important tool is the concordance table between MAP and state summative assessments. Concordance tables have been used for decades to relate scores on different tests measuring similar but distinct constructs. These tables, typically derived from statistical linking procedures, provide a direct link between scores on different tests and serve various purposes. Aside from describing how a score on one test relates to performance on another test, they can also be used to identify benchmark scores on one test corresponding to performance categories on another test, or to maintain continuity of scores on a test after the test is redesigned or changed. Concordance tables are helpful for educators, parents, administrators, researchers, and policy makers to evaluate and formulate academic standing and growth. Recently, NWEA completed a concordance study to connect the scales of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) English language arts (ELA) and math with those of the MAP Reading and MAP for Mathematics assessments for New Mexico (NM). In this report, presented are the 3rd through 8th grade cut scores on MAP reading and mathematics scales that correspond to the benchmarks that Illinois adopted for its PARCC ELA and math tests. Information about the consistency rate of classification based on the estimated MAP cut scores is also provided, along with a series of tables that predict the probability of receiving a Level 4 (i.e., "Proficient") or higher performance designation on the PARCC assessments, based on the observed MAP scores taken during the same school year. A detailed description of the data and analysis method used in this study is provided in the appendix. [More] Descriptors: Scores, Inferences, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests
(2010). "Red Movement"–AIHEC Student Congress Empowers Native Students, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. In this article, the author describes the Summer Leadership Conference which was sponsored by the AIHEC Student Congress (ASC) and held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) on June 24-27, 2010. This was the third year that IAIA has hosted the conference. Tribal college students chose the theme "Red Movement: Empowering Native Students." This year there was a total of 37 students, representing 12 tribal colleges, which is an increase of five students and one tribal college compared with last year. [More] Descriptors: American Indians, American Indian Education, Tribally Controlled Education, Conferences (Gatherings)
(2015). ECS and National Experts Examine: State-Level English Language Learner Policies, Education Commission of the States. Most state policy and education leaders are keenly aware that the number of English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in the United States' public schools has increased significantly over the past several years and will likely continue to increase. States with historically large populations of English language learners–like California and New Mexico–continue serving significant numbers of ELLs. Other states–like Hawaii, Kansas and Nevada–have seen substantial increases in the percentage of ELLs in their schools. There is increasing national and state attention to this issue and state policy leaders are committed to creating education systems that meet ELL needs and provide them with solid academic foundations. December 4-5, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) convened a group of experts to reflect on available research, practice and state policy around this topic and to make recommendations in areas where potential impact at the state level is greatest. At this meeting, experts discussed five key policy elements: (1) Finance; (2) Identification and reclassification; (3) Educator quality; (4) Pre-kindergarten services; and (5) Parent and family engagement. The policy recommendations they suggested during the meeting are summarized in this report. An appendix contains: Experts Attending the ECS ELL Thinkers' Meeting. [More] Descriptors: English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, English Language Learners, State Policy
(2006). The Nation's Report Card–New Mexico. Volume 1, Issue 1, New Mexico Public Education Department. This issue of the Nation's Report Card for New Mexico highlights National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) Science results for 2005. Key findings for Grade 4 indicate that there has been no significant change since 2000 in the average science score; average science score for Grade 8 has dropped since 1996. There has been no significant change in either Grade 4 or Grade 8 in the percentage of New Mexico students scoring at or above either the "Basic" or "Proficient" level. In both Grade 4 and Grade 8, New Mexico's average science score was lower than that of the nation's public schools. Information for students with disabilities and English language learners are reported in tabular form. Comparisons with other states are displayed in both tabular and chart form. [More] Descriptors: National Competency Tests, Science Tests, Scores, Grade 4
(2007). State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Progress on Teacher Quality, 2007. New Mexico State Summary. The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This New Mexico edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers could make improvements to benefit both students and teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into six areas that include a total of 27 goals. Broadly, these goals examine the impact of state policy on the preparation, certification, licensure, compensation and effectiveness of teachers across the elementary, secondary and special education spectra. New Mexico's progress toward meeting these goals is summarized. Overall, New Mexico has done a good job in meeting some of NCTQ's goals, but there is considerable work that needs to be done in all areas. New Mexico completely missed eight goals, met a small portion of eight, partially met seven, nearly met one and fully met three. New Mexico has stronger general education requirements for elementary teacher candidates than most other states, although there are still gaps in essential areas. The state, however, needs to work to improve other areas of teacher preparation, especially its program approval process. The body of the report provides a more detailed breakdown of the state's strengths and weaknesses in each area. Detailed rationale and "Food for Thought" for each area and corresponding goal are appended. (Contains 72 figures.) [Additional funding for this first edition of the "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" was provided by the Achelis Foundation, Bodman Foundation, Daniel's Fund, Fisher Family Foundation, Gleason Foundation, and The Teaching Commission. This state report is part of NCTQ's State Teacher Policy Yearbook series. For the national summary, see ED506661.] [More] Descriptors: Teaching (Occupation), Teacher Effectiveness, Yearbooks, State Standards
(2007). What Happens? Relationship of Age and Gender with Science Attitudes from Elementary to Middle School, Science Educator. This study examines the attitudes of 1008 students from rural New Mexico in elementary and middle schools from ages 9 through 14. A large decrease in science attitudes between the ages of 11 and 12 years, corresponding with the move from elementary to middle school was observed. [More] [More] Descriptors: Middle School Students, Elementary School Students, Attitude Change, Student Attitudes