APS beats early literacy goals, falls short in middle school math
APS said first- and second-grade reading gains topped three-year targets, but eighth-grade math still sat far below its 2028 benchmark.
Albuquerque Public Schools cleared its three-year literacy targets for first and second graders in underserved areas, even as the district missed its middle school math benchmarks. APS reporting showed first- and second-grade reading proficiency rising among targeted student groups, with several schools posting gains of more than 20 percentage points.
The literacy results gave APS a measurable win in the earliest grades, where reading recovery has been one of the district’s main priorities. The gains were concentrated among student groups the district has singled out as needing the most support, including children in underserved areas.
Math told a different story. APS missed its benchmarks in middle school math performance, leaving the district short of the progress it said it needs to make for students who have long been underserved. The gap matters most in eighth grade, where APS has set a five-year goal tied to the state mathematics summative assessment.
In an October 23, 2024 goal statement, APS said the percentage of eighth-grade students identified in the Yazzie-Martinez decision plus African American students who demonstrate grade level proficiency or above should rise from 11.1% in May 2023 to 21.1% in May 2028. That target sits at the center of the district’s broader effort to improve student outcomes for groups it has identified in its goals and guardrails materials.
APS board materials show that the district has been tracking both early literacy rates and middle school math proficiency as core measures of progress. The framework, which the district says is rooted in the vision and values of the APS community, links those outcomes to long-term improvement for students across Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.
For families, the clearest test of whether the math recovery plan is working will be whether APS starts moving steadily above the 11.1% baseline in eighth-grade proficiency and whether that progress shows up in the state math assessment for the student groups named in the district goal. The literacy gains suggest APS can move numbers quickly in targeted grades. The harder question is whether middle school math can catch up before the 2028 deadline.
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