A double-digit jump in reading proficiency since 2022 for New Mexico students needs to be celebrated — and then, educators across the state must double down on what is working so the improvement continues.
Reading, after all, is essential to academic success both during the K-12 and college years but also for lifelong learning and enjoyment. Yet reading for pleasure among adults in the United States has declined precipitously over the last 20 years, down 40%, a 2025 study revealed.
Who knows? If kids learn to read well at an early age, they just might grow to love the written word. And love of reading will pay off in all subjects at school.
History involves reading, lots of it. Mathematics can have difficult-to-comprehend word problems.
Science classes feature reading, and future scientists need to write to present their research. Reading is necessary for success in these classes and in life.
That’s why improvement in reading proficiency deserves a moment of celebration. The Public Education Department made the announcement last week, revealing that reading proficiency was up 10 percentage points since 2022 for students in grades three through eight, using data from the 2024-25 school year. That’s up five points from the previous year, when 39% of students attained scores in the proficient range. The news was not all good; scores in math remained largely flat.
But progress in reading achievement has lessons for success in other academic subjects. Officials at the Public Education Department are crediting the move to structured literacy — the so-called science of reading — for the improvement. In this, New Mexico is following states such as Mississippi and Louisiana, which have used structured literacy to create sustained improvement
As PED Secretary Mariana Padilla puts it, these are “evidence-based results.” More, please.
An important component of success is training teachers how to teach reading — intensive work beyond what they learn in college. Because there is a “science” to this reading instruction, teachers learn step-by-step methods to convey not just how to read, but how to understand and decipher unfamiliar words.
Education is notorious for its love of the next big thing — middle schools vs. junior highs, open concept classrooms, new math and on and on and on. Too often reforms, though, do not begin with the teacher in mind. Structured literacy starts with the teacher, who then has the tools to better instruct students.
Padilla, in speaking to the Legislative Finance Committee last week, wants the Legislature to require the teaching method in classrooms. Some lawmakers are dragging their feet, citing opposition from some teachers.
The proof, though, is in the increase in reading proficiency scores — not just in New Mexico but in other states.
The key is to stay committed over time, as Padilla pointed out. This is no time to let up on what is working. Continue to focus on early interventions for struggling readers. Train more teachers in how to use the science of reading, and start the training in college classes so that new teachers have the necessary skills on day one in the classroom. Involve families, too, so that reading becomes more common in homes across New Mexico.
Essential for New Mexico, groups that traditionally have been neglected in schools are seeing marked improvement in reading proficiency. Since 2022, there has been a 13-point rise in reading among Native students, a 10-point increase among Hispanic students and an eight-point increase for English learners. All of these groups are included in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, filed to ensure a constitutionally adequate education for students who had been underserved.
The bottom line is this: Every child deserves to be reading at or above proficient levels.
The ability to read — and read well — will mean a better chance for success in all classes. And in life. What New Mexico is doing works. Keep it up.
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