SENATE MEMORIAL 73

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Michael S. Sanchez

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, TO CONDUCT AN ANALYSIS OF THE COST, BOTH IN INSTRUCTIONAL TIME AND MONEY, OF ALL ASSESSMENTS OF NEW MEXICO STUDENTS, INCLUDING PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS RELATED TO COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS.

     WHEREAS, the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 increased accountability requirements necessitating an increase in assessments and requirements for disaggregated data; and

     WHEREAS, enactment of a comprehensive education reform bill in 2003 established New Mexico's place as a leader in school reform efforts throughout the country, particularly in the realm of standards and assessments as demonstrated by the state having received an "A" in the latest national quality counts state report cards; and

     WHEREAS, for nearly a decade, implementation of those reforms has been a priority for the state's education policymakers; and

     WHEREAS, because each state has its own process for developing, adopting and implementing standards and assessments, what students are expected to know and be able to do can vary widely from state to state; and

     WHEREAS, development of the art and science of pedagogy has encouraged and improved the use of regular classroom assessments to inform instruction; and

     WHEREAS, program evaluation often requires the use of regular and timely student assessments, especially for students who are struggling academically and who are receiving intervention or remediation in reading or mathematics; and

     WHEREAS, English language learners participate in testing to determine their respective levels of English proficiency; and

     WHEREAS, the individual education plans of students with disabilities include monitoring and frequent assessment; and

     WHEREAS, research indicates the need for increasing instructional time, particularly for low-performing students; and

     WHEREAS, increasing the number and frequency of assessments has concomitantly decreased instructional time; and

     WHEREAS, in the spring of 2009, governors and chief state school officers from across the United States began the common core state standards initiative to develop a set of shared national standards ensuring that students in each state are held to the same level of expectations as students in the world's highest-performing countries; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico's public education department in 2010 approved common core state standards for mathematics and English language arts, making New Mexico one of the forty-five states plus the District of Columbia that have approved the common core state standards; and

     WHEREAS, efforts are currently under way to develop common core state standards in science and social studies; and

     WHEREAS, the transition from the state's current standards-based assessments to assessments aligned to the common core state standards is scheduled to be implemented during the 2014-2015 school year; and

     WHEREAS, revenue shortfalls over the past four years have necessitated the temporary suspension of some statewide evaluations; and

     WHEREAS, implementing a new statewide evaluation system will require considerable time and funding;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative finance committee and the legislative education study committee, in cooperation with the public education department and other stakeholders, be requested to conduct a time and funding analysis of assessments of New Mexico students; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study determine the following:

          A. the number and kinds of tests required by various entities, such as the federal government, state government, district and school or classroom assessments;

          B. the per-student cost of assessments;

          C. the amount of instructional time spent both on preparing students to take assessments and on the time spent by students taking assessments; and

          D. the ways in which the data are used; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that study data be disaggregated into the following groups of students:

          A. English language learners;

          B. dual language students;

          C. students receiving intervention or remediation services;

          D. students with disabilities;

          E. general education students;

          F. students by ethnicity; and

          G. economically disadvantaged students; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative finance committee and the legislative education study committee report the results of the study to the 2013 legislature and the governor; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the respective directors of the legislative finance and legislative education study committees and to the secretary of public education.

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