Latinos are the largest ethnic minority group in the Southwest and the fastest-growing nationally. More than one-third of Latino students are English Language Learners and, according to Department of Education data, they consistently perform poorly on state tests and have lower graduation rates than whites and Asians. On today’s program we focus on the Latino achievement gap in our region and explore how states are looking beyond federal guidelines and assistance to come up with some possible solutions to close the gap in the Southwest.
New Mexico is becoming the latest state to be freed from the No Child Left Behind grading system. While the state may be free of the federal system, the recently implemented state A to F state grading system left Las Cruces Schools with less than stellar marks. Nearly two-thirds of New Mexico schools received a grade of C or better under the new ratings by the Public Education Department. Las Cruces Public Schools was a bit bottom heavy with C’s and D’s, but Superintendent Stan Rounds says that isn’t necessarily bad news.
