New Mexico seeks student assessments that reflect culture

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state's newly appointed education secretary says the next version of statewide tests for student academic performance should reflect the unique cultures of a heavily Hispanic and Native American state.

New Mexico Public Education Secretary Karen Trujillo told reporters Friday that a clear picture should emerge in August of the new statewide assessments for students and that the exams need to be culturally relevant.

In one of her first actions as governor, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham did away with student assessments developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers that she pilloried as high-pressure and counterproductive.