I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The state House voted to end “social promotion” in schools on a 62-5 vote Tuesday afternoon. The bill is part of Gov. Susana Martinez’s educational reform package.
The legislation says if third grade students can’t read proficiently, as measured by the New Mexico Standards-Based Assessment (NMSBA), beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, they will not move on to the fourth grade. Currently, parents can veto their children being held back.
The legislation passed Tuesday would also provide remedial classes to children who are below proficient in reading.
Martinez has said this legislation is one of her top priorities. In her State of the State address, she said, “We will end social promotion, the practice of passing children from one grade to the next before they have mastered the basics.”
The bill has to be approved by the Senate before it can be sent to the governor’s desk.
After the vote, Martinez praised the House’s passage of the bill.
“Today’s overwhelming show of bipartisan support to end social promotion is a critical step toward ensuring that all of our students have the knowledge and tools necessary to succeed in school and in life,” Martinez said in a statement.
