Historical public education information in New Mexico, 2011-2015

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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

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Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

This page contains archived information on New Mexico's public education system, primarily from 2011-2012, but also from other years due to the availability of data at the time it was written. For more recent information, view New Mexico's public education page.

The New Mexico public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2012 New Mexico had 337,225 students enrolled in a total of 866 schools in 135 school districts. While the national ratio of teachers to students was 1:16, in New Mexico there were 21,957 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students. There was roughly one administrator for every 253 students, compared to the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average New Mexico spent $9,070 per pupil in 2011, which ranked it 37th in the nation. The state's graduation rate was 70 percent in 2012. This was the Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate reported to the United States Department of Education for all students in 2011-2012.

State agencies

See also: New Mexico Department of Education

The New Mexico Public Education Department is led by the New Mexico Secretary of Education. Hanna Skandera served in that role as of 2014.

The New Mexico Public Education Commission is composed of 10 members, elected from state districts. They serve staggered, four-year terms. As a partner to the New Mexico Public Education Department, the Public Education Commission works in three committees: the Public Education Department's Strategic Plan, Charter Schools and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical federal fund for career technical programs.

The vision statement of both the New Mexico Public Education Department and the New Mexico Public Education Commission reads:

“

A world-class education system in which all New Mexico students are prepared to succeed in a diverse, increasingly complex world.

”

Regional comparison

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how New Mexico compared to three neighboring states with respect to number of students, schools, the number of teachers per pupil, and the number of administrators per pupil during the 2011-2012 school year. Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page.

Regional comparison, 2011-2012
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher/pupil ratio	Administrator/pupil ratio	Per pupil spending
New Mexico	866	135	337,225	21,957	1:15.4	1:253.4	$9,070
Arizona	2,252	662	1,080,319	50,800	1:21.3	1:419.5	$7,666
Colorado	1,813	259	854,265	48,078	1:17.8	1:301.9	$8,724
Utah	1,020	126	598,832	25,970	1:23.1	1:450.2	$6,212
United States	98,328	17,992	49,521,669	3,103,263	1:16	1:295.2	$10,994
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey", 2011-12 v.1a. National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 2. Number of operating public schools and districts, state enrollment, teacher and pupil/teacher ratio by state: School year 2011–12" U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Demographics

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in New Mexico as reported in the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data for 2011-2012.

Demographic information for New Mexico's K-12 public school system
Ethnicity	Students	State percentage	United States percentage**
American Indian	34,287	10.17%	1.10%
Asian	4,110	1.22%	4.68%
African American	6,816	2.02%	15.68%
Hawaiian Nat./Pacific Isl.	276	0.08%	0.42%
Hispanic	200,483	59.45%	24.37%
White	87,381	25.91%	51.21%
Two or More	3,872	1.15%	2.54%
**Note: This is the percentage of all students in the United States that are reported to be of this ethnicity.

Enrollments by region type

See also: Student distribution by region type in the United States

During the 2011-2012 school year a plurality of students in New Mexico attended city schools. This was similar to students in Arizona and Colorado. However, students in Utah were more likely to attend suburban schools than city schools.

Student distribution by region type, 2011 - 2012 (as percents)
State	City schools	Suburban schools	Town schools	Rural schools
New Mexico	32.6%	11.9%	27.4%	28.1%
Arizona	48.5%	16.3%	10.0%	25.2%
Colorado	33.3%	32.6%	10.3%	23.8%
Utah	16.5%	50.9%	12.9%	19.7%
U.S. average	28.9%	34.0%	11.6%	25.4%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD)

Academic performance

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Compared to three neighboring states (Arizona, Colorado, and Utah), New Mexico had the lowest percentage of students score at or above proficient in math and reading in fourth grade and eighth grade during school year 2012-2013.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
New Mexico	31%	23%	21%	22%
Arizona	40%	31%	28%	28%
Colorado	50%	42%	41%	40%
Utah	44%	36%	37%	39%
U.S. average	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the U.S.

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for New Mexico and surrounding states for 2012 and 2013.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores*
State	Graduation rate, 2012		Average ACT composite, 2012		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
New Mexico	70%	Fifth	19.9	75%	1626	12%
Arizona	76%	Fourth	19.7	35%	1551	35%
Colorado	75%	Fourth	20.6	100%	1721	14%
Utah	80%	Third	20.7	97%	1684	6%
U.S. average	80%		21.1		1498
*Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Rate (except for Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, which did not report “Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate,” but instead used their own method of calculation). **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades 9–12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for New Mexico was higher than the national average at 5.0 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 5.9 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in New Mexico

As of June 2015, school choice options in New Mexico included: charter schools, homeschooling, online learning, private schools and multiple public school open enrollment policies.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: New Mexico state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2012
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), New Mexico spent approximately 19.7 percent of its fiscal year 2012 budget on elementary and secondary education. This was down 0.1 percentage points, a 0.5 percent decrease in the share of the budget from fiscal year 2008, when the state spent 19.8 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education. Over 65 percent of New Mexico's education revenue comes from state funding. Federal funding accounts for 17.66 percent, and local funding accounts for 16.55 percent.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems
State	Percent of budget (2012)	Per pupil spending (2011)	Revenue sources (2011)
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
New Mexico	19.7%	$9,070	17.66%	65.78%	16.55%
Arizona	19%	$7,666	14.69%	41.22%	44.09%
Colorado	25.3%	$8,724	11.18%	40.41%	48.41%
Utah	24.7%	$6,212	12.02%	51.19%	36.79%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report," Table 8: Elementary and Secondary Education Expenditures As a Percent of Total Expenditures U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system revenues in New Mexico totaled approximately $3.6 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including revenue sources, for New Mexico and surrounding states.

Revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
New Mexico	$641,925	$2,390,635	$601,508	$3,634,068
Arizona	$1,367,644	$3,839,130	$4,105,899	$9,312,673
Colorado	$979,904	$3,543,208	$4,245,132	$8,768,244
Utah	$519,547	$2,211,870	$1,589,706	$4,321,123
U.S. total	$74,943,767	$267,762,416	$264,550,594	$607,256,777
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

\| \n <pbars size=650x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Federal revenue,State revenue,Local revenue New Mexico,17.66,65.78,16.55 Arizona,14.69,41.22,44.09 Colorado,11.18,40.41,48.41 Utah,12.02,51.19,36.79 U.S. total,12.34,44.09,43.56 </pbars>

Public school revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (as percents)

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures in New Mexico totaled approximately $3.7 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including expenditure types, for New Mexico and surrounding states.

Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	General expenditures**	Capital outlay	Other***	Total expenditures
New Mexico	$3,045,075	$621,504	$66,091	$3,732,670
Arizona	$8,157,006	$796,052	$634,413	$9,587,471
Colorado	$7,338,499	$836,045	$521,460	$8,696,004
Utah	$3,600,074	$693,458	$234,361	$4,527,893
U.S. total	$520,577,893	$52,984,139	$29,581,293	$603,143,325
**Funds spent operating local public schools and local education agencies, including such expenses as salaries for school personnel, student transportation, school books and materials, and energy costs, but excluding capital outlay, interest on school debt, payments to private schools, and payments to public charter schools. ***Includes payments to state and local governments, payments to private schools, interest on school system indebtedness, and nonelementary-secondary expenditures, such as adult education and community services expenditures. Source: National Center for Education Statistics

\| \n <pbars size=500x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Current expenditures,Capital outlay,Other New Mexico,81.58,16.65,1.77 Arizona,85.08,8.30,6.62 Colorado,84.39,9.61,6 Utah,79.51,15.32,5.18 U.S. total,86.31,8.78,4.90 </pbars>

Public school expenditures, fiscal year 2011 (as percents)

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

Note: Salaries given are averages for the state. Salaries may vary between a state's urban, suburban, and rural districts and should be adjusted for cost of living. For example, a MacIver Institute study of average teacher salaries in 60 metropolitan areas found that salaries in New York City were the third-highest in absolute figures but 59th-highest when adjusted for the cost of living.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in New Mexico, the average salary increased by 4.7 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
New Mexico	$44,488	$49,378	$46,381	$46,573	4.7%
Arizona	$50,430	$50,119	$49,501	$49,885	-1.1%
Colorado	$52,153	$52,520	$49,865	$49,844	-4.4%
Utah	$47,757	$48,980	$48,961	$49,393	3.4%
U.S. average	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

Organizations

Unions

In 2012, the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas, including: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. New Mexico ranked 37th overall, or weak, which was in the fourth tier of five.

The main unions related to the New Mexico school system are the National Education Association of New Mexico, an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), and AFT New Mexico, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. The National Education Association of New Mexico is the largest education association in the state.

List of local New Mexico school unions:

• National Education Association of New Mexico
• AFT New Mexico
• AFT Albuquerque
• Albuquerque Educational Assistants Association
• AFT Anthony
• AFT Gallup
• AFT Arroyo Hondo

Government sector lobbying

See also: New Mexico government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the New Mexico School Boards Association.

Transparency

As of 2009, New Mexico did not have a statewide spending transparency database. The Albuquerque Journal had several lists of the salaries of top state officials on their Watchdog resources page. A listing of the New Mexico state payroll from 2009 is posted here.

In 2009, Senate Bill 159, known as the "Budget Transparency Act," passed the New Mexico State Senate. However, it died in committee in the spring of 2009. It was introduced by Sen. Sander Rue.

Studies and reports

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

See also

• Public education in New Mexico
• New Mexico
• Education Policy in the U.S.