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This morning, the New Mexico Public Education Department released 2024–2025 statewide assessment data, revealing record growth in reading proficiency across the state. Reading proficiency has climbed from 36% in 2022 to 39% in 2023, and now stands at 44% in 2025.
Every fall, the scent of green chile fills the air and hot air balloons brighten the Albuquerque sky, reminding us of what makes New Mexico enchanting. This year, we have even more to celebrate: over 40% of New Mexico students are now reading at grade level.
This morning, the New Mexico Public Education Department released 2024–2025 statewide assessment data, revealing record growth in reading proficiency across the state. Reading proficiency has climbed from 36% in 2022 to 39% in 2023, and now stands at 44% in 2025. While math proficiency remained largely flat, high school SAT reading and writing scores improved, even as SAT math proficiency declined from 16% in 2022 to 12% in 2025.
Record Reading Gains
This year’s results show record gains in reading performance. In grades 3–8, every Yazzie-Martinez subgroup saw improvement since 2022, with all students increasing by 9.8% overall. Overall, 72% of all schools improved their reading scores from 2024 to 2025 in grades 3–8.
Albuquerque Public Schools Lead the Way
New Mexico’s largest school district, Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), also saw significant improvement. For the first time in years, every Yazzie/Martinez student group and African American students made reading gains on the statewide assessment. Across the district, reading scores rose 4.8 points and math scores 2.3 points overall, with reading proficiency improving 8.5 points over three years.
In third-grade reading, all APS students increased by 2.4 percentage points, with subgroup gains including:
- Native American students: +12.1 points
- African American students: +7.9 points
- Economically disadvantaged students: +6.9 points
- Special education students: +3.8 points
- English learners: +3.3 points
This progress comes as APS and its Board of Education continue implementing Emerging Stronger, a five-year strategic plan guided by Student Outcomes Focused Governance (SOFG) to ensure every decision supports student learning.
The Science of Reading Works
Beginning with Senate Bill 398 (2019), this progress reflects years of work to implement evidence-based literacy instruction. This includes providing LETRS training for educators, deploying literacy coaches statewide, creating a statewide summer reading program, and aligning teacher licensure exams with Science of Reading principles.
Still, important work remains. We have critical policy gaps to fill, including providing individual reading plans for struggling students, ensuring the consistent use of high-quality instructional materials, and expanding access to high-impact tutoring so every student receives the support they need to succeed.
A Moment to Celebrate and Build On
It’s not every day we get to celebrate good news about student progress in New Mexico. A record number of students are now reading at grade level, and every Yazzie-Martinez subgroup—along with African American students in our state’s largest district—saw reading gains. That’s worth celebrating.
As we revel in the magic of a New Mexico fall, let’s celebrate these results and remember: Progress is Possible, and today, our students have proved it.