The long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is an important consideration given the trend of dedicating more resources to these programs. However, long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is not well-understood and recent studies have shown preschool effectiveness can vary across states and programs. A state run prekindergarten program in…

We use the natural experiment of a state lottery scholarship to measure the effect of generous financial aid on graduation rates at New Mexico's flagship public university. During the study period, the scholarship program paid full tuition for eight semesters for any state resident earning a 2.5 grade point average in their first semester at any…

Performance funding policies for higher education allocate appropriations to public institutions based on student outcomes such as degree completions. This study investigates whether a special science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) incentive in 13 state performance funding policies leads to greater undergraduate degree…

The educational acts of the 21st century have affected public education for twenty years. Their roots historically go back to the 1960s. The original goal was to create an equitable education for children of color so that the achievement gap and dropout rate would be eliminated. Although well intended, these acts may have spawned many unintended…

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's (WICHE's) ninth edition of "Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates," published in December 2016 (revised February 2017), quantified how the demographic changes that are underway with America's youth population will be evidenced in the next 15 years of…

The purpose of this guidebook is to provide guidance to school districts in completing their local Tribal Education Status Report (TESR). Any data that is reported in the local TESRs has to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) which is a Federal law that protects the privacy of…

This 22nd edition of "Quality Counts" offers a fresh take on the annual top-to-bottom ranking of the nation's school systems on a state-by-state basis published by "Education Week". The first of three "Quality Counts" reports being rolled out over the course of the year, "Grading the States" aims to…

Nearly two-thirds of the Hispanic/Latinx college students in the United States attend Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI). Yet, very little research has been conducted regarding these colleges and universities. To address this concern, a sequential, exploratory investigation was conducted with funding from the National Science Foundation (award…

The New Mexico (NM) higher education state attainment goal -- the Route to 66 -- has been a driving force for many of the initiatives undertaken in New Mexico. The New Mexico Higher Education Department (HED) works energetically and collaboratively with 31 public higher education institutions (HEIs) across the State. The HED also registers and…

The 2021 Tribal Education Status Report presents information and data related to students, teachers, funding, and other indicators regarding American Indian students attending New Mexico's public school districts for the 2020-2021 academic year. This report was prepared by the New Mexico Public Education Department (NM PED) and the PED's Indian…

This policy brief is part of a larger research report, "Making ESSA's Equity Promise Real: State Strategies to Close the Opportunity Gap," that describes how states are using opportunities in ESSA [Every Student Succeeds Act] to better support historically underserved students through the thoughtful selection of specific equity measures…

In compliance with the Indian Education Act (NMSA1976 Section 22), the purpose of this Tribal Education Status Report (TESR) is to inform stakeholders of the New Mexico Public Education Department's (NMPED) and Local Education Agency's (LEAs) current initiatives specific to American Indian (AI) students and their educational progress. This report…

It is well-documented that students of color, and other historically underserved students, have had less access to an equitable and supportive learning environment, perpetuating school failure and, too often, a school-to-prison pipeline that is difficult to escape. This report shows how a number of states are taking advantage of opportunities in…

This paper presents effects after five years of a performance-based scholarship offered to low-income entering freshmen at The University of New Mexico, a medium-sized public university. The program, which was evaluated using a randomized controlled trial, provided eligible students with up to $1,000 in additional aid per semester for four…

This annual report provides the details of how some of New Mexico Higher Education Department's (NMHED) accomplishments will improve the lives of New Mexico's students. New for 2018, in addition to NMHED-led programs, this report includes profiles of each of New Mexico's public higher education institutions (HEIs) to the report. Each profile is a…