The folks at Wallethub have another report which places New Mexico’s K-12 education firmly at the bottom in terms of education systems across the nation. The State ranks dead last in Math and English scores as well as dropout rate. None of this is particularly news to anyone following education policy in New Mexico.
The most telling component of the Wallethub report is the chart below which shows that New Mexico is the very worst performing state in the nation in terms of outcomes even as it is considered a “high spending” state when it comes to K-12 education.
If you are as frustrated by New Mexico’s horrendous educational performance as we are, make it a point to attend our upcoming free education conference on September 22nd.
Perhaps unsurprisingly Gov. Lujan Grisham’s general approach to New Mexico’s education situation is to ignore it and count on a friendly media to do the same. Over the recent weekend she tweeted the following:
Our public education system is the cornerstone of our nation’s success, and my administration will continue to #SupportPublicEducation in NM. Whether it’s free and healthy school meals or the best-paid teachers in the Southwest, we are investing in our public school system. pic.twitter.com/QpNZKS365O
— Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) July 30, 2023
Obviously, this is not New Mexico!
GEORGIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
School supplies have been purchased for elementary, middle and high school students. Parents will only need to purchase a book bag and reusable water bottle for the 2023-24 school year.
Individual school supply kits will be provided for students in grades K-8 on the first day of school or at Open House. Bulk supplies for pre-k and high school students will be distributed at each school as needed. All necessary classroom supplies will be provided as well. Additional supplies needed will be ordered throughout the school year.
Throwing money at a problem, and closed mindedness to other ideas can lead to failures like this.
All the Luhan likes want to do is throw money at a problem with no plan. No wonder it isn’t working.
I don’t believe Paul Gessing or the Rio Grande Foundation have the expertise or interest in coming up with solutions or policy improvements for our schools. Their primary interest is cherry picking surveys that put New Mexico in the worst possible light and banging
away at the Democrats in the hope that it will result in a Republican governor and greater Republican representation in our legislature.
We have many solutions to NM’s education challenges:
1) Education Savings Accounts like the program in Arizona.
2) Expand charter schools and increase their accountability.
3) Pursue Mississippi-style early childhood reform.
4) Eliminate collective bargaining in the existing government school system.
Alas, there will be no fundamental change in NM until there is fundamental political change – and the voters of the state have shown no interest in fundamental political change. Expect the same old same old.