AFT–New Mexico President Stephanie Ly

AFTNM News:

• Study Focused on Nationwide Implementation of New K-12 Standards

ALBUQUERQUE – American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Stephanie Ly released the following statement:

“Today, the RAND Corporation released a study on the implementation of new K-12 standards for Mathematics and ELA/Literacy. The study was based on a large and nationally representative body of educators who periodically are surveyed on issues that impact the education profession.

“The national, in-depth study paints a troubling picture regarding the implementation of the new standards, especially with the needed professional development to properly implement the new standards.

“Most educators surveyed report receiving less than a day of professional development before implementing new standards, that the professional development is top-down instead of educator and student needs driven, and is not aligned to best classroom practices. The study also identifies a huge equity issue where educators in high-poverty, high-minority areas have not been supported to provide the methods needed for students far behind to access true rigorous, standards-based instruction.

“The bottom line is that educators are not getting the time, tools, supports, and resources to successfully implement new standards, especially those in high-poverty settings, yet New Mexico’s educators are still serving students even without meaningful professional development. This study amplifies educators’ voices around the need to have strong professional development focused on implementation whenever new standards are adopted. It is critical we seize the opportunity to get implementation right, and we need support from New Mexico policy-makers to create and adopt policies which are proven effective, and not just sound bites from the New Mexico Public Education Department.”

Note: The RAND Corporation will release New Mexico-specific data from the survey soon.