A proposal to improve elementary school students’ math scores passed its first committee Feb. 13.
Math proficiency in New Mexico has declined in grades 5 through 11 each year since 2023. Last year, only 23% of the state’s K through 12 students tested proficient in math. Standardized tests show a trend of increasing proficiency between third and fifth grade before plummeting in high school.
Higher Education Department Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez told lawmakers she struggled with math in school. She spoke in support of SB 235 and said it could help students like her.
“It wasn’t until failing two semesters of math that I finally went to the Student Success Center and took a screener for the first time in my life and found out I have dyscalculia,” Rodriguez said.
Dyscalculia is a learning disability that affects a person’s ability to understand numbers and math. The bill would require schools to screen students for a math difficulty before they complete second grade.
“The idea of this is to start trying to identify early students that may be falling behind so we can catch them up before they get to some of those crucial testing times,” said the bill sponsor, Sen. William Soules, a Las Cruces Democrat.
The Albuquerque Teachers Federation and other organizations testified in favor of the legislation at the Senate Education Committee.
If the bill becomes law, schools would have to develop professional learning plans for elementary and secondary math. If a student is identified as having math difficulty, a school would have to provide interventions.
The legislation would also require the Public Education Department to create a math learning framework to provide standards for math content, instruction and coaching.
Budget recommendations from the governor, the Legislature and the Legislative Education Study Committee would fund a three-year math initiative through PED. Those range from $15 million to $38.4 million.
The bill passed unanimously, and now heads to the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee.
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Mia Casas is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Journalism and Theatre at the University of New Mexico. She became a student reporter at KUNM News in 2023 after she was awarded a New Mexico Local News Internship.
