Information for Parents
New Mexico has always prioritized rigorous learning goals for our students. New Mexico adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010 with the goal of better preparing students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college and careers. The Common Core State Standards give us several advantages over the current New Mexico state standards. Specifically, they will:
- Make our students globally competitive by teaching educational standards that are used throughout the world
- Give our students the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college or careers
- Give all students access to the same rigorous standards, regardless of where they live or what their family background is
- Clarify standards so that parents, teachers ,and students understand what is expected of them
- Increase collaboration across districts and with other states to share resources and expertise in teaching the Common Core State Standards
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) benefit your child because they will be better prepared for their futures when they graduate from high school. These new standards will benefit the community and family because they are a consistent set of expectations for students, no matter what their zip code is. When a family moves, a student’s education is often disrupted, as they are forced to repeat material or learn at a different level. With common standards across states, this disruption will be reduced.
Currently, Common Core State Standards exist only for English Language Arts and Mathematics. Common Core standards will be developed in the future for other core subjects such as science and social studies.
What Will My Student Be Learning?
Today, too many New Mexico students are underprepared for life after graduation. To fix that problem, we need to set clear expectations and high standards for teachers, parents, and students that everyone can work on together.
Standards help teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge they need by providing clear goals for student learning. New Mexico Common Core State Standards are part of a movement in New Mexico and 45 other states to ensure that all students, no matter where they live, are prepared to graduate from high school ready for college or a career. Common standards mean that students receive a high-quality education at every school, in every community in the state.
New Mexico Common Core Standards have been developed for grades K-12 in English and mathematics. Common Core is a different approach to learning, teaching, and testing that engenders a deeper understanding of critical concepts and the practical application of that knowledge. All students, starting in kindergarten, will be learning advanced skills in core subjects like English and mathematics that they must have if they are to be successful in the modern world. By 2015, all students will be taking new forms of tests that require them to show that they can read, write, speak, solve problems, and use technology. These tests will examine many kinds of student work, not just multiple-choice answers.
How Will My Student Be Assessed?
The Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, requires students to take state tests in reading and math every year in third through eighth grade and once in high school.
In New Mexico, students in third through eighth grade take the New Mexico Measures of Student Success and Achievement (NM-MSSA) in English language arts and math. Students in fifth, eighth, and 11th grade also take a science test known as the New Mexico Assessment of Science Readiness (NM-ASR). These tests are taken online. They include a variety of questions, including traditional multiple-choice and open-ended questions that ask students to show their work and explain their answers.