Albuquerque Public Schools
Goals and Guardrails
This framework centers on the vision and values expressed by the APS community to support what we want our students to know and be able to do.
The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education has shifted how it governs, prioritizing its work to focus on student outcomes. This Student Outcomes Focused Governance framework centers on the vision and values expressed by the APS community to support what we want our students to know and be able to do.
During dozens of community meetings and countless individual conversations in the fall of 2022, the community's vision and values became clear -- they want schools to focus on literacy, math, post-secondary readiness, and the skills, habits, and mindsets that lead to success. And they expect equity, support, quality instruction, voice, and engagement. The vision and values lead to the adoption in early 2023 of the Albuquerque Public Schools Goals and Guardrails.
To assure accountability, the Goals and Guardrails are targeted, measurable, and have start and end points and dates.
Interim Goals and Guardrails will be used to monitor progress and make adjustments toward meeting the goals.
APS Goals
Goal 1: Early Literacy
The percentage of third-grade students identified in the Yazzie-Martinez decision plus African American students who demonstrate grade level proficiency or above on the state English Language Arts (ELA) summative assessment will increase from 27.3% in May 2023 to 37.3% in May 2028.
Interim Goal 1.1: 1st Grade
The percentage of first-grade students identified in the Yazzie-Martinez decision plus African American students who demonstrate grade level proficiency or above as predicted by Amira will increase from 17% in May 2023 to 23% in May 2026.
Interim Goal 1.2: 2nd Grade
The percentage of second-grade students identified in the Yazzie-Martinez decision plus African American students who demonstrate grade level proficiency or above as predicted by Amira will increase from 18.3% in May 2023 to 24.3% in May 2026.
Goal 2: Math Proficiency
The percentage of eighth-grade students identified in the Yazzie-Martinez decision plus African American students who demonstrate grade level proficiency or above on the state mathematics summative assessment will increase from 11.1% in May 2023 to 21.1% in May 2028.
Interim Goal 2.1: 6th Grade
The percentage of sixth-grade students identified in the Yazzie-Martinez decision plus African American students who demonstrate grade-level proficiency or above as predicted by i-Ready will increase from 16.6% in May 2023 to 22.6% in May 2026.
Interim Goal 2.2: 7th Grade
The percentage of seventh-grade students identified in the Yazzie-Martinez decision plus African American students who demonstrate grade level proficiency or above as predicted by i-Ready will increase from 13% in May 2023 to 19% in May 2026.
Goal 3: Post-Secondary Readiness
The percentage of high school graduates who earn credit in two or more Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Dual Credit courses, or earn an industry certification or Bilingual Seal, will increase from 39.6% in September 2023 to 49.6% in September 2028.
Interim Goal 3.1: Bilingual Seal
The percentage of ninth-grade students who earned credit in at least one high school Bilingual Seal course will increase from 43.6%in May 2024 to 49.6% in May 2027.
Interim Goal 3.2: Career Pathway
The percentage of tenth-grade students who earned credit in at least one Career Connected Learning course will increase from 53.5% in May 2024 to 59.5% in May 2027.
Interim Goal 3.3: Advanced Placement
The percentage of eleventh-grade students who earned credit in at least one Advanced Placement course will increase from 40.7% in May 2024 to 46.7% in May 2027.
Goal 4: Skills, Habits & Mindsets for Life Success
The percentage of students who demonstrate the skills, habits, and mindsets most aligned to life success—perseverance, self-regulation, self-efficacy, and social awareness—as measured by an evidence-based tool will increase from:
- Perseverance: 51% in 2023 to 61% in 2028
- Self-Regulation: 65% in 2023 to 75% in 2028
- Self-Efficacy from 44% in 2023 to 54% in 2028
- Social Awareness from 58% in 2023 to 68% in 2028
Definitions
- Perseverance: How well students are able to persevere through setbacks to achieve long-term important goals.
- Self-Regulation: How well students manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations.
- Self-Efficacy: How much students believe they can succeed in achieving academic outcomes.
- Social Awareness: How well students consider the perspective of others and empathize with them.
Interim Goal 4.1: Grades 3-5
The percentage of students in grades 3-5 who demonstrate the skills, mindsets, and habits most aligned to life success as measured by an evidence-based tool will increase from:
- Perseverance: 55% in 2024 to 60% in 2027
- Self-Regulation: 67% in 2024 to 72% in 2027
- Self-Efficacy: 53% in 2024 to 58% in 2027
- Social Awareness: 66% in 2024 to 71% in 2027
Interim Goal 4.2: Grades 6-12
The percentage of students in grades 6-12 who demonstrate the skills, mindsets, and habits most aligned to life success as measured by an evidence-based tool will increase from:
- Perseverance: 51% in 2024 to 56% in 2027
- Self-Regulation: 67% in 2024 to 72% in 2027
- Self-Efficacy: 40% in 2024 to 45% in 2027
- Social Awareness: 56% in 2024 to 61% in 2027
Progress on this goal is tracked through the use of a twice-yearly survey given to students in third- through twelfth-grade. This survey measures how students feel at school and how they deal with challenges. Learn more about the Skills, Habits, and Mindsets Student Survey.
Learn more about our progress on APS Goals.
APS Guardrails
Guardrail 1: Wraparound Support Systems
The superintendent will not allow the district to operate with inequitable distribution of school and/or community-based wraparound and support systems.
- Interim Guardrail 1.1: The percentage of Community School Integrated Systems of Support partnerships, as measured by the leverage tracker in schools designated as priority or emerging by the district’s Performance Framework, will increase from 17% in May 2024 to 42% in May 2027.
- Interim Guardrail 1.2: The percentage of secondary schools designated as priority or emerging by the district’s Performance Framework with Student Success Systems, which research shows leads to increased student outcomes, will increase from 24% in May 2024 to 50% in May 2027.
Guardrail 2: Equitable Allocation of Resources
The superintendent will not allow resources to be allocated inequitably.
- Interim Guardrail 2.1: The long-term teacher sub-coverage at schools designated as priority by the district’s Performance Framework will increase from 63% in May 2024 to 70% in May 2027.
- Interim Guardrail 2.2: The number of annual instructional visits by assistant superintendents to schools designated as priority by the district’s Performance Framework to provide principals with essential tools, professional learning, coaching, and support will increase from 0 in May 2024 to 150 in May 2027.
Guardrail 3: High-Quality Curriculum and Instruction
The superintendent will not allow curriculum and instruction that is not district and standards-aligned, challenging, culturally and linguistically responsive, and differentiated to meet the academic needs of all students.
- Interim Guardrail 3.1: The percentage of English/Language Arts and math classrooms in schools designated as emerging and priority by the district’s Performance Framework using grade-level, high-quality instructional materials as measured by the District Observation Tool will increase from 56% in March 2024 to 63% in March 2027.
- Interim Guardrail 3.2: The percentage of elementary teachers certified in LETRS, research-based instruction focusing on what literacy skills need to be taught, why they are important, and how to plan to teach them, will increase from 36% in August 2024 to 60% in August 2027.
Guardrail 4: Family & Community Engagement
The superintendent will not exclude parent/legal guardian, student, and community voice and engagement in school and district operations.
- Interim Guardrail 4.1: The number of Community School Council meetings held by community school coordinators at schools designated as priority and emerging by the district’s Performance Framework will increase from 504 in May 2024 to 840 in May 2027.
- Interim Guardrail 4.2: The percentage of school campuses with an Instructional Council with at least one family representative will increase from 75 percent in November 2024 to 90 percent in November 2027.
- Interim Guardrail 4.3: The percentage of schools with a Principal Advisory Council made up of student advisors will increase from 0% in August 2024 to 70% in August 2027.
Guardrail 5: Staff Voice & Support
The superintendent will not implement programs or procedures in schools without staff voice, high-quality professional development, and essential material and human resources.
- Interim Guardrail 5.1: The percentage of teaching staff who report that the district provides high-quality professional learning opportunities will increase from 44 percent in October 2024 to 54 percent in October 2027.
- Interim Guardrail 5.2: The percentage of teaching staff who report that the district provides adequate school resources will increase from 39 percent in October 2024 to 49 percent in October 2027.
- Interim Guardrail 5.3:
The percentage of school Instructional Council members who report that they make site-based decisions regarding the school budget and instruction will increase from 88 percent in October 2024 to 93 percent in October 2027.
Progress Monitoring Reports
All progress monitoring reports are available here: Progress Monitoring Reports
Monitoring Calendar
Monitoring Calendar for 2026-2027
View the full Progress Monitoring Calendar July 2024 - July 2028 (Updated Aug. 2026)
Resources
- Goals and Guardrails One Pager - English and Spanish (PDF)
- APS Strategic Analysis & Program Research (SAPR) Dashboard