I have always been interested in education at all levels. There is a K-12 issue that I have never been able to get resolved or get any basic information on. I haven’t received any information or even an acknowledgement from state officials on this issue. The issue revolves around the graduation requirements for the New Mexico diploma of excellence. It was my understanding that to receive the diploma a student must complete the necessary course requirements and then show competency on the ESSA Title 1 federally required state assessments. From the beginning I had questions as to how approximately only 25% of the students would show competency and yet we have a 70%+ graduation rate. I then found out that a student who didn't show competence in all the areas could use an Alternative Demonstration of Competency (ADC). These alternatives would be provided by the local districts along guidelines established by the state. Numerous ADCs were made available to the districts. The problem I have is the districts were not required to report to the state how many students graduated with an ADC, or which ADCs were used. Also, there is the issue of the students who showed no competency level either through the ESSA assessments or an ADC but had completed the required course work. What was their status? Were they graduates? Were they dropouts? It was my understanding that they received a certificate of completion and not a diploma of excellence. How many students were there in each of the three categories statewide? These are the issues and questions that I have never received a response to, and I am very interested in these issues as a retired educator and as a citizen of the State of New Mexico.
Now however this issue is solved. It is now not necessary for a student to show competency based on the ESSA Title 1 federally required state assessments. The new requirements for a diploma of excellence only mention the completion of the necessary coursework. The new graduation guide for the State of New Mexico specifically mentions that competency based on the federally required tests is not needed for graduation and the diploma of excellence.
I know that the state has been concerned about the High School graduation rates over the years. It will now be of interest as to how much the graduation rate will change due to this one change in graduation requirements.
As a retired Adult Educator, I also believe it to be ironic that based on this new graduation guideline Adult Education students will still be required to show a basic competency through either the GED or HiSET examinations to obtain a high school equivalency certificate while a high school student showing no competency may receive a New Mexico diploma of excellence.