School Grading is part of state and federal statute that mandates accountability for all public schools. In 2011, New Mexico lawmakers enacted requirements that schools demonstrate progress through a grading system similar to that applied to students, A-B-C-D-F [§22-2-1, §22-2-2, and §22-2E-1 to §22-2E- 4] [6.19.8.1 NMAC – N, 12-15-11]. The statute requires the governing body of a charter school rated D or F to prioritize its resources toward proven programs and methods linked to improved student achievement until the public school earns a grade of C or better for two consecutive years [§22-2E-4 (E) NMSA 1978].

In 2011, New Mexico lawmakers also enacted requirements that each charter school authorizer develop a performance framework to set forth academic performance expectations. The statute requires each charter authorizer to collect, analyze and report all data from state assessment tests in accordance with the performance framework [§22-8B-9.1 NMSA 1978].

New Mexico’s school grading model was first approved in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and was recently one of the first to be approved under requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Under ESSA, school accountability will undergo slight revisions of student success indicators and measures of academic progress beginning in 2019.