Anthony Elementary School’s 420 students come from low-income, Spanish speaking families. Yet for the 2011-2012 school year, 70 percent of Anthony Elementary school’s students test proficient in math; while 62.4 percent tested as proficient in reading. Comparing that to New Mexico’s statewide averages where 51 percent were proficient in reading and 43 percent were proficient in math.
Anthony is the only school in the Gadsden district to get an “A” from the state Department of Public Education.
How was the school able to achieve these results? If you walk through the halls of the school, you cannot help but notice that the walls are lined with college pennants. The school motto is “No Excuses! We’re a college-Bound Campus!.” The faculty has set a goal to improve test scores by 10 percent each year. Students are tested each quarter so that teachers know where they are, what gaps exist and where the instructional focus needs to be.
Sounds like a winning focus to me.