Reading proficiency rises one percentage point to 45%, while math proficiency increases slightly from 26% to 27% statewide.

SANTA FE, N.M. – This morning, the New Mexico Public Education Department released statewide assessment data for the 2025–2026 school year, revealing modest progress in math and reading proficiency statewide.

Reading proficiency increased slightly from 44% in 2024–2025 to 45% in 2025–2026, while math proficiency climbed from 26% to 27%. A closer look at grade-level reading results reveals more meaningful year-over-year progress among New Mexico’s third- and fourth-grade students. Third-grade reading proficiency increased five percentage points, from 40% to 45%, while fourth-grade proficiency increased three percentage points, from 48% to 51%. High school level results reveal 11th-grade math proficiency stands at just 12.6%, while 11th-grade reading proficiency is 37.1%.

“While our statewide reading and math proficiency rates show only modest progress, we should celebrate the reading growth of our third- and fourth-grade students. Year-over-year increases of five and three percentage points are significant and deserve recognition,” said Amanda Aragon, Executive Director of NewMexicoKidsCAN. “We should learn from the schools driving this progress and replicate what is working. But the reality is that New Mexico still ranks last on the Nation’s Report Card. With the next NAEP results expected in early 2027, this statewide data shows we are still far behind and are not achieving the rapid growth needed to improve our national ranking or replicate the success we have seen in states like Mississippi. To get there, we need sustained statewide increases of three to five percentage points year after year.”

While Yazzie-Martinez students continue to face significant opportunity gaps compared with all students statewide, reading growth for Native American and economically disadvantaged students outpaced state growth. Native American and economically disadvantaged students posted the largest gains, with reading proficiency increasing 13.9 percentage points among Native American students and 12.9 points among economically disadvantaged students. English learners gained 7.4 percentage points, while students with disabilities gained 4.6 points.

“The only way for a system to make rapid progress is to have everyone driving in the same direction,” Aragon continued. “That requires our governor, legislature, and 89 school boards and superintendents to be aligned and moving in lockstep. This data tells us that some district and school leaders are adopting best practices with fidelity and getting results, but it is not happening everywhere. To achieve the growth New Mexico’s students need, doing what works cannot be the exception. It has to become the expectation across our state.”

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About NewMexicoKidsCAN: Launched in 2018, NewMexicoKidsCAN is a local non-profit organization that advocates for community-informed, student-centered and research-backed education policies. Connecting policy, instructional practice and politics the organization works to reimagine what is possible in New Mexico’s public education system to ensure New Mexico students become the future community, civic and business leaders New Mexico needs.

To learn more, visit www.nmkidscan.org.