PED News:

SANTA FE — Today, the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) released graduation rate data for the 2023 student cohort, highlighting an impressive 95.77% graduation rate for seniors who qualified as Career Technical Education (CTE) concentrators.

The overall 2023 graduation rate for New Mexico high school seniors was 76.7%, an increase of two-tenths of a percentage point from 76.5% in 2022.

View the complete data report on NM Vistas here.

Bernalillo Public Schools, Gadsden Public Schools and Bloomfield Public Schools all outperformed the state overall, outperformed in every Martinez/Yazzie subgroup and narrowed achievement gaps internally.

All three districts participate in college and career readiness programs, including NextGen and Perkins CTE, Pathway2Careers and Advanced Placement.
 

Students completing two or more courses in an approved program of study, or career cluster, qualify as CTE concentrators. The increased graduation rate (95.77%) for CTE concentrators shows an area of promise for improving graduation rates statewide.

“The 2023 graduation data is a testament to the power of practical, skills-based learning. When students view education as a pathway to a successful career, they are more engaged,” Public Education Secretary Arsenio Romero said. “The PED will continue to develop our career technical programs and promote them to schools and districts.”

The CTE graduation trend was seen across all student subgroups, including those identified as at-risk in the Martinez/Yazzie ruling.

Economically Disadvantaged students showed a general graduation rate of 69.7%, but a higher graduation rate of 97.22% for Economically Disadvantaged CTE concentrators. CTE focused Students with Disabilities also showed an increase compared to their peers (68.5% for general; 97.08% for CTE concentrators), as did English Language Learners (74.9% for general; 97.68% for CTE concentrators) and Native American students (74.7% for general; 97.84% for CTE concentrators).

70 districts or charters, also referred to as Local Education Agencies (LEAs), had a 99-100% graduation rate among CTE concentrators. Of these 70 districts or charters, when sorted by CTE student count, the following LEAs had the highest graduation rates:

• Bloomfield Schools
• Dexter Consolidated Schools
• Estancia Municipal Schools
• Fort Sumner Municipal Schools
• Hatch Valley Public Schools*
• Hobbs Municipal Schools*
• Los Lunas Public Schools*
• Rio Rancho Public Schools*
• School of Dreams Academy*
• Silver Consolidated Schools*
  
  

The average was 99.73%, with 7 out of 10 achieving 100%. 6 (marked with asterisk) of the 10 LEAs listed above have schools participating in the PED’s Innovation Zones Initiative. Innovation Zone schools receive intensive professional development, guidance and technical assistance, and awards to implement a re-imagined school experience that includes leadership teams and work-based and experiential learning.

The overall graduation rate has remained stable since 2020.

2023: 76.7%
2022: 76.5%
2021: 76.8%
2020: 76.9%

In 2014, the high school graduation rate was 69.3%.

“A stabilized graduation rate means that our improvements are not a fluke. Our goal is to increase and stabilize the graduation rate for all student subgroups. A stable, across-the-board graduation rate is an indicator of an equitable public education system for all students,” said Public Education Secretary Arsenio Romero.

The PED calculates the graduation rate for each “cohort” of students who enter high school the same year and are expected to graduate four years later. The cohort of 2023 entered high school in the fall of 2019.