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Report: New Mexico improves quality of childhood education

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A new report credits New Mexico with continuing to improve the quality of its early childhood education programs and investing more money in the initiatives. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Tuesday that many experts believe the programs are the key to boosting educational measures and helping combat poverty. The National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University says New Mexico is meeting nine of 10 benchmarks for providing high-quality prekindergarten education. And, for the second year in a row, the state ranks 20th in the nation for how much it spends per preschool student. The report says New Mexico falls short only when it comes to teacher qualifications, with just 60 percent of its pre-K teachers holding a bachelor's or higher degree.