Licensure Loopholes: New Mexico

Exiting Ineffective Teachers Policy

Goal

The state should close loopholes that allow teachers who have not met licensure requirements to continue teaching.

Meets goal
Suggested Citation:
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2011). Licensure Loopholes: New Mexico results. State Teacher Policy Database. [Data set].
Retrieved from: https://www.nctq.org/yearbook/state/NM-Licensure-Loopholes-10

Analysis of New Mexico's policies

New Mexico requires that only teachers who have met all state requirements may teach in core academic areas. Core academic subjects are defined as "English, language arts, reading, mathematics, science, modern and classical languages, except the modern and classical Native American languages and cultures of New Mexico tribes or pueblos, the arts, including music and visual arts, and social studies, which includes civics, government, economics, history, and geography."

However, the state does allow teachers in other areas to teach under endorsement waivers, provided evidence is presented of emergency circumstances.

Citation

Recommendations for New Mexico

State response to our analysis

New Mexico recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.

Research rationale

Research has shown that "the difference in student performance in a single academic year from having a good as opposed to a bad teacher can be more than one full year of standardized achievement." See E. Hanushek, "The Trade-Off between Child Quantity and Quality," The Journal of Political Economy 100 No. 1 (1992): 84-117. Hanushek has also found that highly effective teachers can improve future student earnings by more than $400,000, assuming a class of 20.  "The Economic Value of Higher Teacher Quality." National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper 16606 (2010).