New Mexico came in dead last in a report card that measures education performance across the nation. The annual Quality Counts Report from the Education Research Center gave New Mexico a D+ when it comes to a student's chance for success. The index measures the role of education in a person's life from cradle to career.
Senior research analyst Sterling Lloyd says analysts look at what it takes for young people to get off to a good start in life in order to have a successful career. "And so the fact that New Mexico doesn't fare particularly well on this index raises questions about whether it's young people are going to be prepared for the future and be able to earn a good living in a competitive economic environment," Lloyd says.
New Mexico struggles particularly when it comes to reading and math, ranking at or near the bottom compared to other states; however, LLoyd says it's not all gloom and doom. Looking at what kinds of policies have been adopted to improve student performance, New Mexico ranks above average.