Editor,
Discussions of the overall ranking of Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS) have emerged during the candidate forums for the School Board Candidates. The state assessment math scores are the topic for this, the third in the series. The scores for all the high schools are shown in the chart below. The results are downloaded from the state assessment data website: https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/bureaus/accountability/achievement-data/.
The year-by-year data below shows us that there was a sharp change in the test in 2015. This was due to using a new common core test that yielded much lower scores.
These results do not align with results presented by Teddy Warner in a recent letter to the Reporter. The state results on the PED website also do not match up with the results that they presented. Warner does not provide a reference so we have no idea where their numbers originated.
Since the different years do not compare well we looked at the last set of results from 2019 to examine the order of the schools. The test is clearly too difficult to be a real proficiency test, but we just look at the school scores as a relative measure of school performance. Los Alamos High School is 20th on the list. The top magnet schools in the state apparently opted out of the test, as their scores are blank in the state database. There are many other charter schools above LAHS. The large school La Cueva used to be close to LAHS, but now we trail far behind. This alone is a good reason to fire the whole school board. Clovis and Artesia, the AAAA football powerhouses, surprisingly match LAHS in mathematics. For these 2019 results the small rural schools Reserve, Melrose, Clayton, and Mountainair are the biggest surprises. How do they collect the resources to outperform LAHS?
2019 Mathematics Assessment-
| School | 2019StudentCount | Proficient & Above % |
| Reserve High School | 11 | 64 |
| Explore Academy | 40 | 53 |
| Taos Academy | 17 | 41 |
| Public Academy for Performing Arts | 35 | 37 |
| Mandela International Magnet (Mims) | 30 | 37 |
| Abq School Of Excellence | 27 | 37 |
| Melrose High School | 19 | 37 |
| Rio Rancho Cyber Academy | 29 | 36 |
| La Cueva High School | 310 | 34 |
| Clayton High School | 30 | 30 |
| Early College High School | 56 | 29 |
| Academy for Technology and the Classics | 38 | 29 |
| Carlsbad Early College High School | 37 | 27 |
| The ASK Academy | 22 | 27 |
| Clovis High School | 421 | 24 |
| College And Career High School | 45 | 24 |
| NM School for the Deaf | 17 | 24 |
| Mountainair High School | 13 | 23 |
| Artesia High School | 214 | 22 |
| Los Alamos High School | 129 | 22 |
The school board elections are already underway and many voters may not be aware of the low scores in this fundamental area. It is past time for a change. Please support candidates who stand traditional education: Paul Anthony Jaramillo, Nickole Aguilar Garcia and Rick Mooday.
David Reagor