Outcomes Following Changes in New Mexico Graduation Requirements

Two new reports from Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest explore student outcomes after New Mexico changed its graduation requirements. In 2008, New Mexico passed a law requiring high school students to pass a new graduation exam, advanced math and science courses, and at least one other advanced course. The new requirements began with the cohort of students who were in grade 9 in 2009/10 and expected to graduate from high school in 2013.  Graduation exam participation and performance, graduation rates, and advanced course-taking following changes in New Mexico graduation requirements, 2011–15    New Mexico made passing a new graduation exam and passing Algebra II and two lab science courses requirements to graduate. This study examined how students fared under the new requirements, particularly American Indian and Hispanic students. Among the findings: • About 25 percent of the 2011 cohort scored proficient or better on all three sections (reading, math, and science) of the prior graduation exam. That percentage increased to more than 30 percent among the 2013–15 cohorts taking the new exam. A higher percentage of the 2015 cohort than the 2011 cohort scored proficient or better on the math or science sections of the exam. • The percentage of students who took Algebra II and two lab science courses by grade 12 increased 3 percentage points from the 2014 cohort to the 2015 cohort. The four-year graduation rate was higher among students who took Algebra II and two lab science courses than among students who did not. (Parents could request a waiver for their child to be exempt from the Algebra II requirement, but data on the use of waivers were not available.) Advanced course completion rates among New Mexico high school students following changes in graduation requirements    New Mexico also required high school students to pass at least one advanced course—a course designated as advanced, gifted and talented, honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual credit, or distance learning—in order to graduate. This study examined advanced course completion rates among students in the first three cohorts subject to the new requirements. It also examined how rates varied across student and school characteristics. Among the findings: • Over 56 percent of students completed at least one advanced course in high school. • A higher percentage of White students than of American Indian and Hispanic students completed at least one advanced course. The gaps across racial/ethnic groups were smaller when high-performing students were examined separately. • The percentage of students who completed at least one advanced course was substantially lower among students at small schools than among students at large schools.