By Andrea Schoellkopf

Part of the state’s proposed grading system must reward schools for student improvement, even if students are not meeting standards, according to Gov. Susana Martinez’s nominee for education secretary.

Hanna Skandera, in a public appearance Wednesday during a Title I parent involvement conference in Albuquerque , told more than 300 parents and school employees that schools showing improvement should be rewarded for their efforts.

Martinez’s educational reforms call for assigning A-F letter grades to schools based on student achievement and other factors, such as graduation rates.

The grades would be in addition to the No Child Left Behind Act designations that show student proficiency levels and whether schools are making “adequate yearly progress.”

A school could be failing to make AYP, for instance, but still receive a passing grade with the state system, according to a consultant that accompanied Skandera to the talk.

“We also need to measure growth and progress,” Skandera said. “But 50 percent of it is how much progress is being made in our schools.”

Skandera said she wants to appoint a group to figure out how to “reward teachers” and include that information as part of the state’s three-tier licensure/salary system.

“We need to acknowledge that, that is successful teaching, closing the gap and creating change,” she said.

Another proposal seeks an end to social promotion for students who can’t read by the end of third grade.

Skandera pointed to last month’s Education Week Quality Counts ranking of New Mexico at 50th for chance for success after graduation and at the bottom for K-12 achievement. That same report, however, gave New Mexico an A for its standards, assessment and accountability, though Skandera did not mention that.

Welcoming questions from the audience, Skandera said federal funding for Title 1 and other programs could help pay for the end to social promotion.

“If we do not prioritize literacy for our children, I believe the crisis is much greater down the road,” she said.

Skandera said teachers who receive the lowest ratings, despite professional development for three consecutive years, must be fired.