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Superintendents Still Dealing With Changes To State Education

Simon Thompson

New Mexico school superintendents are dealing with the implementation of state standards handed down by the public education department. It’s not an easy job,  Dr Dan Lere was recently appointed as superintendent of Deming Public Schools.

He says compared to other school districts where he’s worked in Colorado and Wisconsin, New Mexico government has taken a much more active role in how education is delivered.

“They would give the money to the school districts and then just say use that money to educate those kids  the best way you know how and that’s what we did. When I came here and found out there is all kinds of rules and restrictions about how we spend our money  and the amount of testing and how we evaluate teachers everything” he says.

State Education Secretary-Designate Hannah Skandera says that control is necessary because the state’s schools were failing. 

"What did we have before and did it tell us who our great teachers are, who our good teachers are, who our effective teachers are and who are our struggling teachers" she says  "The answer is our old system did not do that."

Skandera has required more high stakes tests and more measures designed to make teachers accountable. 50% of a teacher’s performance evaluation is now typically based on student standardized test scores. 

Lere acknowledges that New Mexico achievement and graduation rates have been lower than most other states but he says the Public Education Department may not have the right solution.

“They sincerely believe that by doing this testing and sanctioning schools that don’t do well, that they are improving the quality of education in the state. There maybe some marginal improvements, but I rarely find that teachers or schools get better out of fear" he says.

"I think that  is one of the things that all this testing is generated is a level of fear  and anxiety  that it is probably not very healthy for the system”

Las Cruces public schools superintendent Stan Rounds says while new standards have been an adjustment for a lot teachers, the measures may raise student achievement in the long run.

“We are getting some really rich data out of that particular work” he says.  

Still Rounds acknowledges that the system, particularly teacher evaluation isn’t perfect. But like any of the changes he has seen in his last 30 years as a superintendent it has bugs that need to be worked through.

“We know  that the observation portion is good, so golly lets use that" he says

But observation only makes up 25% of a teacher’s performance evaluation with 50 percent often being based on student test scores.  Lere says his teachers are being demoralized by inaccurate performance evaluations.
 
“It doesn’t necessarily reflect the effectiveness of a teacher,  we  have teachers right here that according to that rubric were  deemed to be minimally effective , when in actuality they are really good teachers, making huge differences in students lives and making them successful after they graduate” he says.

According to the non-profit group Alliance in Education 40 to 50 percent of new teachers quit within five years.

Lere says it’s a reality that New Mexico’s teacher evaluation system is making teacher retention even harder he says good teachers are leaving at a rate faster than they can be replaced. 

Rounds acknowledges that teacher morale in Las Cruces public schools has been lower than in the past. He says districts do need more autonomy in determining how the standards are implemented and how teacher evaluations are calculated. He is asking the Public Education Department to slow down the implementation of state education policies and standards.

“I have said to my staff until  they have my notice  of their teacher level I am asking them just to relax"he says  "All decisions that be made about their employment resides on my desk and will first  and foremost come from the teacher observation portion"

Superintendents and teachers aren’t the only ones concerned.  A recent poll found 46 percent of Albuquerque voters oppose basing half of a teacher’s evaluation on student academic performance.