Content Knowledge: New Mexico

Early Childhood Preparation Policy

Goal

The state should require its teacher preparation programs to provide early childhood teachers with age-appropriate content knowledge and instructional strategies. Starting in 2020, this goal is now graded.

Meets a small part of goal
Suggested Citation:
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2020). Content Knowledge: New Mexico results. State Teacher Policy Database. [Data set].
Retrieved from: https://www.nctq.org/yearbook/state/NM-Content-Knowledge-87

Analysis of New Mexico's policies

New Mexico offers early childhood education licenses: birth to grade 3 and age 3 to age 8. Teacher candidates with the birth to grade 3 license must pass the Praxis Education of Young Children (5024) test. Early childhood education teacher candidates with the age 3 to age 8 license must pass the Praxis Pre-Kindergarten Education (5531) test. There is also a birth-PreK license, which does not require a test. 

Emergent Literacy and Oral Language: The Praxis Education of Young Children (5024) test addresses emergent literacy and oral language. The test requires candidates to know, "the progression of oral language development, including but not limited to expectations for listening comprehension and verbal communication, and how to facilitate and expand children's oral language and vocabulary development." Candidates are also required to "know strategies to address language delays." The test addresses emergent literacy by requiring candidates to be able to develop children's phonological awareness, concepts of print, fluency to support reading comprehension, phonics skills and how to expand children's use of vocabulary.

The Praxis Pre-Kindergarten Education (5531) test broadly addresses candidates' knowledge of "literacy concepts (e.g., phonemic awareness, vocabulary, writing, shared reading)" and "allows children the opportunity to practice developmentally appropriate concepts during everyday classroom experiences (e.g., one-to-one correspondence, phonemic awareness)."

New Mexico's competencies for PreK-3 early childhood teachers requires candidates to "Demonstrate a variety of developmentally appropriate instructional strategies that facilitate the development of emergent literacy skills."  They further specify a candidate's ability to:

  • Apply strategies of differentiated instruction based on the needs of children in all areas of literacy development including oral language development.
  • Facilitate activities to develop fluency; and the ability to read text accurately and rapidly.
  • Facilitate vocabulary "development, including both explicit instruction and indirect vocabulary development through authentic literature, cultural relevancy, and students' experiences.
  • Facilitate comprehension strategies, including instruction on predicting, re-reading, questioning, sequencing, summarizing, retelling, reading for pleasure and analytical and critical reading, activities to develop fluency, the ability to read text accurately and rapidly, and study strategies.
Competencies for the birth to PreK candidates require candidates to "demonstrate knowledge of the language, reading and writing components of emergent literacy at each developmental level." However, these competencies lack specificity. 

Emergent Mathematics and Science: The Praxis Education of Young Children (5024) test addresses emergent mathematics by requiring candidates to know how to develop children's:
  • Knowledge of number names and the count sequence;
  • Understanding of the relationship between number name and quantities;
  • Ability to use counting to determine how many objects are arranged in various configurations; and
  • Understanding of the concepts of operations on rational numbers."
The test does not address concepts related to emergent science.

The Praxis Pre-Kindergarten Education (5531) test contains one standard addressing candidates' knowledge of "mathematical concepts (e.g., number sense, shapes, one-to-one correspondence, sequence)." The test also contains one standard addressing candidates' knowledge of "scientific concepts (e.g., cause and effect, discovery learning, observation, change)."

Early Childhood Development: The Education of Young Children (5024) test assesses candidates knowledge on a variety of topics dealing with early childhood development from birth-age 8. The Praxis Pre-Kindergarten Education (5531) test does not specifically address early childhood development from birth-age 8, but does measure candidates' knowledge of the "typical progression in each developmental domain of children from age two to age five."

Competencies for all licenses require candidates to:
  • Incorporate understanding of developmental stages, processes, and theories of growth, development, and learning into developmentally appropriate practice.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the interaction between maturation and environmental factors that influence physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and cultural domains in the healthy development of each child.
Establishing a Positive and Productive Classroom Environment: The Praxis Pre-Kindergarten Education (5531) test addresses some of these skills. The test measures candidates' understanding of:
  • Principles and strategies for effectively managing an early learning environments;
  • The benefits of consistent routines and procedures;
  • How to apply a variety of strategies to engage children (e.g., clapping, classroom jobs, music and movement, sharing); and
  • Appropriate strategies for transitions.
Candidates are tested on their understanding of "principles and strategies that promote positive behaviors in children." This competency is demonstrated by a candidate who:
  • Identifies and applies strategies that promote positive behavior (e.g., redirection, modeling positive interactions, problem solving, setting limits and goals, child reflection, self-regulation skills).
  • Provides opportunities for children to interact in the physical environment.
  • Incorporates conflict resolution strategies.
  • Has been tested on his or her knowledge of "basic methods for promoting the development of children's self-regulatory skills.
New Mexico's competencies for the birth-PreK license include: 
  • Applying understanding of young children's need for balance, order, depth, variety, and challenge through curriculum planning, routines, and scheduling (e.g., daily, weekly, and longer-term).
  • Linking child characteristics, needs, and interests with informal opportunities to build children's language, concept development, and skills.
  • Applying knowledge to create environments that enrich and extent children's play including intervention strategies (i.e., questioning), respect of cultural diversity and gender equity.
  • Supporting a position of the fundamental importance of play in young children's learning and development from birth - four (0-4) years of age.
  • Demonstrating knowledge of the relationships among emotions, behaviors, and communication skills to assist children in identifying and expressing their feelings in appropriate ways.
  • Using appropriate guidance to support the development of self-regulatory capacities in young children.

Citation

Recommendations for New Mexico

Ensure that all preschool teachers possess sufficient knowledge of emergent literacy and oral language.
New Mexico should—either through teacher preparation standards or test frameworks—ensure that all preschool teachers understand how to develop children's oral language skills and build children's emergent literacy. This understanding is important because of the critical role that preschool teachers play in language development.

Ensure that all preschool teachers possess sufficient knowledge of emergent mathematics and science.
New Mexico should—either through teacher preparation standards or test frameworks—ensure that all preschool teachers understand how to introduce and develop children's mathematical skills and effectively introduce science concepts. This understanding is crucial because early introduction to complex mathematical concepts can affect later achievement in mathematics.

Ensure that all preschool teachers possess the skills to create a positive and productive classroom environment.
Because well-run classrooms help children develop self-regulation and build academic skills, it is imperative that candidates are adequately prepared to create a positive and productive classroom environment. This includes classroom management skills, developing a child's executive functions, and creating activities where children can learn through play. New Mexico should ensure that all preschool teachers possess adequate understanding of how to develop children's executive functioning skills, build social emotional skills and manage children's play for learning purposes. This knowledge is critically important to ensuring that all preschool teachers are able to establish an environment that actively supports learning.

State response to our analysis

New Mexico recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis; however, this analysis was updated subsequent to the state's review.

Updated: February 2020

How we graded

The factors considered in determining the states' rating for the goal:

  1. The state should ensure that all new teacher candidates possess sufficient knowledge of emergent literacy and oral language.
  2. The state should ensure that all new teacher candidates possess sufficient knowledge of emergent mathematics and science concepts.
  3. The state should ensure that all new teacher candidates possess content knowledge of early childhood development in the birth to age eight range.
  4. The state should ensure that all new teacher candidates possess content knowledge of strategies and concepts that create a positive and productive classroom environment. Such as: classroom management techniques, building social and emotional skills, developing a child's executive functions, and learning through play.

Content Knowledge: The state should require all early childhood teacher candidates to possess sufficient knowledge of: emergent literacy, oral language, emergent mathematics and science; childhood development from birth through age eight. The state should also require all early childhood teacher candidates to possess sufficient knowledge of strategies and concepts that create a positive and productive classroom environment, such as: classroom management techniques, building social and emotional skills, developing a child's executive functions, and learning through play.


Content Knowledge: Emergent Literacy and oral language
One-quarter of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
  • One-quarter Credit:
    The state will earn one-quarter of a point if it requires
    that all new teacher candidates possess sufficient knowledge of emergent literacy and oral language
Content Knowledge: Emergent mathematics and science
One-quarter of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
  • One-quarter Credit:
    The state will earn one-quarter of a point if it requires
    that all new teacher candidates possess sufficient knowledge of emergent mathematics and science concepts.
Content Knowledge: Early Childhood Development (birth through age 8)
One-quarter of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
  • One-quarter Credit:
    The state will earn one-quarter of a point if it requires
    that all new teacher candidates possess content knowledge of early childhood development in the birth to age eight range.
Content Knowledge: Positive and Productive Classroom environment
One-quarter of the total goal score is earned based on the following:
  • One-quarter Credit: The state will earn one-quarter of a point if it requires that all new teacher candidates possess content knowledge of strategies and concepts that create a positive and productive classroom environment. Such as: classroom management techniques, building social and emotional skills, developing a child's executive functions, and learning through play. State can get credit for addressing any one of the concepts listed.

Research rationale

A strong preschool experience can set children up for achievement gains in elementary school,[1] and even more critically, for improved long-term outcomes including college attendance and degree completion.[2] However, not all preschool programs have achieved these positive results.[3] To increase the likelihood that children will reap benefits from attending preschool, states should ensure that the preschool teachers have certain essential skills and knowledge.

To lay children's foundation for learning to read—and to open the door to other areas of learning—teachers must understand how to develop children's oral language skills and build children's emergent literacy. Especially for young children who are already behind, preschool teachers can play a critical role in language development.[4] Emergent literacy encompasses a range of skills that are essential to reading, but may not come naturally to all children. These skills include phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, learning the alphabet, and concepts of print.[5] Teacher training in these areas can translate into substantial gains for children in alphabet knowledge, vocabulary, and language skills.[6] The early introduction of language and literacy can make a lasting difference for children. Unsurprisingly, children with low language and literacy skills in preschool demonstrate lower reading skills in kindergarten.[7] However, not all approaches to teaching emergent literacy are equally effective, and the quality of preschool curricula varies, making it that much more important that preschool teachers have ample training in how to develop their preschoolers' emergent literacy skills.[8]

Preschool teachers need similar grounding in teaching emergent math and science concepts. Research finds that introducing children to more complex mathematical concepts from an early age may increase their math ability in later years.[9] In fact, some research suggests that the relationship between children's early math skills and future math achievement is twice as strong as the relationship between emergent literacy and future reading achievement.[10] Little research exists on what teachers need to know about preschool science instruction, but experts agree that this area is important.[11]

Beyond knowing what to teach, preschool teachers need to understand the children they are teaching. As such, knowledge of child development from birth to age eight is important.[12] Similarly, preschool teachers need to know effective classroom management strategies that can build social-emotional skills and prevent or resolve many behavioral problems.[13] Of course, classroom management is about more than discipline: it is about establishing an environment that actively supports learning, including understanding how to develop children's executive functioning skills and manage children's play for learning purposes.[14] Teachers' emotional support for their students is associated with better social competence and lower rates of behavior problems.[15]


[1] For example, see: Andrews, R. J., Jargowsky, P., & Kuhne, K. (2012). The effects of Texas's targeted pre-kindergarten program on academic performance (Working paper no. 84). CALDER. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w18598; Campbell, F. A., Pungello, E. P., Miller-Johnson, S., Burchinal, M., & Ramey, C. T. (2001). The development of cognitive and academic abilities: Growth curves from an early childhood educational experiment. Developmental Psychology, 37, 231-242; Ramey, C. T., Campbell, F. A., Burchinal, M., Skinner, M. L., Gardner, D. M., & Ramey, S. L. (2000). Persistent effects of early intervention on high-risk children and their mothers. Applied Developmental Science, 4, 2-14; Ramey, C. T. & Campbell, F. A. (1991). Poverty, early childhood education, and academic competence: The Abecedarian experiment. In A. Huston (Ed.), Children reared in poverty (pp. 190-221). New York: Cambridge University Press; Ramey, C. T., & Campbell, F. A. (1984). Preventive education for high-risk children: Cognitive consequences of the Carolina Abecedarian Project. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88, 515-523.
[2] Schweinhart, L. J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W. S., Belfield, C. R., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects: The HighScope Perry Preschool study through age 40. Ypsilanti, MI: HighScope Press; Campbell, F., Conti, G., Heckman, J.J., Moon, S.H., Pinto, R., Pungello, E., Pan, Y. (2014, March 28) Early childhood investments substantially boost adult health. Science, 343(6178):1478-85. DOI: 10.1126/1248429. PMID: 24675955; Campbell, F. A., Pungello, E. P., Burchinal, M., Kainz, K., Pan, Y., Wasik, B. H., Sparling, J. & Ramey, C. T. (2012). Adult outcomes as a function of an early childhood educational program: An Abecedarian Project follow-up. Developmental Psychology, 48, 1033. Campbell, F. A., Wasik, B. H., Pungello, E. P., Burchinal, M. R., Kainz, K., Barbarin, O., ... & Ramey, C. T. (2008). Young adult outcomes from the Abecedarian and CARE early childhood educational interventions. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23, 452-466. Campbell, F. A., Ramey, C. T., Pungello, E. P., Sparling, J., & Miller-Johnson, S. (2002). Early childhood education: Young adult outcomes from the Abecedarian Project. Applied Developmental Science, 6, 42-57. Dynarski, S., Hyman, J., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2013). Experimental evidence on the effect of childhood investments on postsecondary attainment and degree completion. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 32, 692-717. Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., Hilger, N., Saez, E., Schanzenbach, D. W., & Yagan, D. (2010). How does your kindergarten classroom affect your earnings? Evidence from Project STAR. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w16381
[3] Lipsey, M. W., Farran, D. C., & Hofer, K. G., (2015). A randomized control trial of the effects of a statewide voluntary prekindergarten program on children's skills and behaviors through third grade. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, Peabody Research Institute. Retrieved from http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/research/pri/VPKthrough3rd_final_withcover.pdf
[4] Diamond, K. E., Justice, L. M., Siegler, R. S., & Snyder, P. A. (2013). Synthesis of IES research on early intervention and early childhood education (NCSER 2013-3001). National Center for Special Education Research; Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (2007). Increasing young low‐income children's oral vocabulary repertoires through rich and focused instruction. The Elementary School Journal, 107(3), 251-271; Institute of Medicine & National Research Council. (2015). Transforming the workforce for children birth through age 8: A unifying foundation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; M. Adams, personal communication, January 2016; Dickinson, D. K., & Porche, M. V. (2011). Relation between language experiences in preschool classrooms and children's kindergarten and fourth‐grade language and reading abilities. Child Development, 82(3), 870-88.
[5] U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse. (2012). Early childhood education interventions for children with disabilities intervention report: Phonological awareness training. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/wwc_pat_060512.pdf; Diamond, K. E., Justice, L. M., Siegler, R. S., & Snyder, P. A. (2013). Synthesis of IES research on early intervention and early childhood education (NCSER 2013-3001). National Center for Special Education Research.
[6] Landry, S. H., Swank, P. R., Smith, K. E., Assel, M. A., & Gunnewig, S. B. (2006). Enhancing early literacy skills for preschool children bringing a professional development model to scale. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(4), 306-324.; U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse. (2012). Early childhood education interventions for children with disabilities intervention report: Phonological awareness training. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/wwc_pat_060512.pdf
[7] Diamond, K. E., Justice, L. M., Siegler, R. S., & Snyder, P. A. (2013). Synthesis of IES research on early intervention and early childhood education (NCSER 2013-3001). National Center for Special Education Research.
[8] Diamond, K. E., Justice, L. M., Siegler, R. S., & Snyder, P. A. (2013). Synthesis of IES research on early intervention and early childhood education (NCSER 2013-3001). National Center for Special Education Research.
[9] Watts, T. W., Duncan, G. J., Siegler, R. S., & Davis-Kean, P. E. (2014). What's past is prologue: Relations between early mathematics knowledge and high school achievement. Educational Researcher, 43(7), 352-360.
[10] Diamond, K. E., Justice, L. M., Siegler, R. S., & Snyder, P. A. (2013). Synthesis of IES research on early intervention and early childhood education (NCSER 2013-3001). National Center for Special Education Research.; Duncan, G. J., Dowsett, C. J., Claessens, A., Magnuson, K., Huston, A. C., Klebanov, P., ... & Japel, C. (2007). School readiness and later achievement. Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1428-1446; Other research found that children's math ability in preschool predicted their math ability at age 15, even after controlling for early reading ability and family characteristics. See: Watts, T. W., Duncan, G. J., Siegler, R. S., & Davis-Kean, P. E. (2014). What's past is prologue: Relations between early mathematics knowledge and high school achievement. Educational Researcher, 43(7), 352-360.
[11] Putman, H., Moorer, A., & Walsh, K. (2016). Some assembly required: Piecing together the preparation preschool teachers need. Washington, DC: National Council on Teacher Quality. Retrieved from: http://www.nctq.org/dmsStage/Preschool
[12] Putman, H., Moorer, A., & Walsh, K. (2016). Some assembly required: Piecing together the preparation preschool teachers need. Washington, DC: National Council on Teacher Quality. Retrieved from: http://www.nctq.org/dmsStage/Preschool
[13]  Diamond, K. E., Justice, L. M., Siegler, R. S., & Snyder, P. A. (2013). Synthesis of IES research on early intervention and early childhood education (NCSER 2013-3001). National Center for Special Education Research.; Epstein, M., Atkins, M., Cullinan, D., Kutash, K., and Weaver, R. (2008). Reducing behavior problems in the elementary school classroom: A practice guide (NCEE 2008-012). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/PracticeGuide/behavior_pg_092308.pdf; National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2010). 2010 NAEYC standards for initial and advanced early childhood professional preparation programs. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/ecada/file/2010%20NAEYC%20Initial%20&%20Advanced%20Standards.pdf
[14] Raver, C. C., Jones, S. M., Li‐Grining, C., Zhai, F., Bub, K., & Pressler, E. (2011). CSRP's impact on low‐income preschoolers' pre-academic skills: Self‐regulation as a mediating mechanism. Child Development, 82(1), 362-378.; Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2014). Closing the achievement gap through modification of neurocognitive and neuroendocrine function: Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial of an innovative approach to the education of children in kindergarten. PloS One, 9(11), e112393.
[15] Mashburn, A. J., Pianta, R. C., Hamre, B. K., Downer, J. T., Barbarin, O. A., Bryant, D., ... & Howes, C. (2008). Measures of classroom quality in prekindergarten and children's development of academic, language, and social skills. Child Development, 79(3), 732-749.