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I'd be interested in knowing the percentage of all adults in NM with college degrees. My guess, and it's only that, would be a higher number. NM has lots of government work, and those people are usually going to be older than the narrow age range used. Also retired people.....I'll bet a large percentage of people who move to NM to retire are degreed.
All that being said, I think the educational system in NM is a disgrace. A real pity.
Looks like I'm wrong...18 percent...but higher than AZ, Nevada and some other western states
http://wrdc.usu.edu/files/uploads/Population/NewMexico_WEB.pdf (broken link)
46% functionally illiterate...kinda makes you proud.... NOT!
The heritage of poor education is going to follow NM for many years, regardless of what changes are made now. In a decade or two this will improve IF schools improve, but that's a long time to wait.
Poor reading skills usually mean poor job opportunities, which usually means poverty, which usually means poor education, which usually means poor reading skills..................................on and on. Literacy Profile
46% functionally illiterate...kinda makes you proud.... NOT!
The heritage of poor education is going to follow NM for many years, regardless of what changes are made now. In a decade or two this will improve IF schools improve, but that's a long time to wait.
Poor reading skills usually mean poor job opportunities, which usually means poverty, which usually means poor education, which usually means poor reading skills..................................on and on. Literacy Profile
Literacy doesn't improve much with college educations, if at all. Somewhere between half to 69% of college graduates are functionally illiterate now.
"It's appalling -- it's really astounding," said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at California State University at Fresno. "Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. That's not saying much for the remainder."
arnt most blue states suppose to be better in education, I hear people say on these boards they like NM better than some other states cause its a blue state, so why are we on or below MS,AL,WV, and SC levels if we are such a blue state?
"It's appalling -- it's really astounding," said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at California State University at Fresno. "Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. That's not saying much for the remainder."
But they're all GREAT at video games and text messaging
"It's appalling -- it's really astounding," said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at California State University at Fresno. "Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. That's not saying much for the remainder."
I must comment that there is a difference between the incapability of reading a complex book to extrapolate from it and functional illiteracy. To be functionally illiterate means literacy skills insufficient for ordinary practical, everyday needs.
I must comment that there is a difference between the incapability of reading a complex book to extrapolate from it and functional illiteracy. To be functionally illiterate means literacy skills insufficient for ordinary practical, everyday needs.
And that inability to function in a normal business environment (clerical, retail, etc.) was
the fundamental reason that the US Chamber of Commerce ranked NM schools so poorly.
arnt most blue states suppose to be better in education, I hear people say on these boards they like NM better than some other states cause its a blue state, so why are we on or below MS,AL,WV, and SC levels if we are such a blue state?
There is a degree of complexity to this question, Desert Sun, that I have thought about for some time. I think it boils down to this: if you are poor in this country, and you are white, you are going to mostly vote Republican. If you are poor, or middle class, and non-white, (hispanic included) you are going to vote mostly Democrat. I would venture to say that Mississippi, Alabama's white vote is much like the black vote nationally, but in reverse: it breaks probably 90% towards Republicans. Interestingly, in those states, if you were to extrapolate these figures out to the areas just beyond the big cities, suburbs of Birmingham, suburbs of Jackson, or New Orleans, you'll probably see the scores of those school districts exceed the national average. But, because these states have such high concentrations of rural poverty, both black and white, they more than offset the good scores of districts surrounding the major cities. I don't know if I am explaining myself articulately or not. I am from New Jersey, and the opposite is true: the state is heavily urban and suburban. The suburbs are so vast in that state, though, and they are inhabited by highly educated people. However, the urban areas have school districts with test scores that rival New Mexico, or Alabama, in educational deficiency. But in the case of New Jersey, the poor run off in the urban districts only slightly pulls down the overall body of work. The fact that New Jersey is blue is due to the same racial minority voting break down, plus the fact that the suburban vote in a state like New Jersey will go more blue because the voter tends to weigh in with a more socially liberal philosophy.
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NOT!
