Land of Enchantment Education Coverage, Driven by Data
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of New Mexico, grounded in New Mexico Department of Education data.
The white-Hispanic graduation gap in New Mexico narrowed from 11.5 to 5.9 percentage points between 2009 and 2017, driven by Hispanic students improving 7.5 points, the fastest of any racial group.
In northwestern New Mexico, six districts serving predominantly Native American communities all graduate below 70%, forming a regional crisis that spans the Navajo Nation.
Espanola's overall graduation rate rose to 65.5% in 2017, but a 44-point gap separated its Native American students, the widest such gap of any New Mexico district that year.
Black students gain 7 points and Native American students 5.8 points with a fifth year, the largest gains among all subgroups in New Mexico.
Hobbs Municipal Schools climbed from 69% to 86% graduation in eight years, outpacing wealthier districts while serving a high-poverty, majority-Hispanic population.
Native American students in New Mexico graduated at 61% in 2017, 15 points below white peers. Three districts cleared 80%, showing the gap is not inevitable.
Albuquerque Public Schools graduated 67.9% of students in 2017, up 2.8 points over eight years while the statewide rate moved 5 points to 71.1%.
New Mexico's gender graduation gap of nearly 8 points exceeds the national average by 3 points. Male students graduate at lower rates than economically disadvantaged students.
New Mexico's graduation rate climbed from 66% to 71% over eight years but remains nearly 16 points below the national average, with progress stalling mid-decade.
New Mexico kindergarten enrollment fell 20% since 2016 while 12th grade grew, inverting the pipeline that once fed the state's schools.
More than a third of New Mexico's districts are at their smallest enrollment ever recorded, including nine of the 10 largest.
The flagship Albuquerque charter has posted 10 straight years of growth, but the three-campus network just recorded its first enrollment decline.
English learner enrollment grew 4.3% since 2019 while total enrollment fell 11%. Permian Basin immigration and post-Yazzie reforms drive the gap.
White students now represent just 19.6% of New Mexico's public school enrollment, the first time the share has fallen below 20%.
New Mexico lost 16,782 students during the pandemic. It has lost another 19,996 since. Only 31.6% of districts have returned to 2019 enrollment.
