Curriculum and Instruction

Welcome to NMPED’s Curriculum & Instruction (CI) Division

The CI Division is part of the Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (TLA) Division alongside the Assessment Division and the Educator Quality Division.

NMPED’s CI Division is committed to the advancement of knowledge and resources that assist educators in the practice of teaching and learning. We are centered in research, grounded in practice, and focused on students. Our team is committed to supporting all students of diverse backgrounds and abilities with a learning experience that prepares them for college, career, and life. We enact this commitment by:

Valuing diversity to ensure students and educators are affirmed in their identities and leverage this diversity to further the learning experience;
Creating spaces for New Mexico educators to explore ground-breaking, cross-disciplinary research and resources;
Providing leadership, content expertise, and technical assistance related to teaching, learning, and assessment;
Coordinating processes to develop and implement content-specific standards for grades K-12;
Designing, developing, and facilitating learning experiences for students and educators; and
Establishing and fostering strategic partnerships among districts, schools, communities, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, postsecondary education institutions, and/or business and industry partners.

The CI Division is constantly evolving to best meet the needs of students and educators in New Mexico. Currently the CI team consists of:

Navigating this page: Use the menu on the right to access dedicated webpages for each bureau & program.

Need help finding what you are looking for? Email: jacqueline.costales@ped.nm.gov

The Lexile Framework for Reading

The Lexile Framework for Reading uses Lexile measures to help educators and parents find reading materials at each student’s unique reading level, engaging students in learning by ensuring they comprehend their reading materials and monitoring their progress over time. Educators can use Lexile measures to personalize student learning, differentiate their instruction and better communicate with parents.

What is a Lexile Measure?

There are two kinds of Lexile measures: Lexile reader measures and Lexile text measures. Lexile reader measures describe how strong a student’s reading is. Lexile text measures describe how difficult, or complex, a text like a book or magazine article is. Lexile measures are expressed as numbers followed by an “L” (for example, 850L), and range from below 0L for beginning readers and text to above 1600L for advanced readers and text. Comparing a student’s Lexile measure with the Lexile measure of what they are reading helps gauge the “fit” between a student’s ability and the difficulty of text.

For more information, check out the Lexile Educator Guide or the Lexile Parent Guide.

Or, watch An Introduction to the Lexile Framework.

The Quantile Framework for Mathematics

The Quantile Framework for Mathematics evaluates the difficulty of mathematical skills and concepts as well as a student’s ability to learn new mathematical concepts. Each of these measures are on a single scale so that the skill demand and student ability can be matched for targeting instruction.

What is a Quantile Measure?

Similar to Lexile measures, there are two types of Quantile measures: a measure for students and a measure for mathematical skills and concepts. The student measure describes what mathematics the student likely already understands and what the student is ready to learn in the future. The skill measure describes the difficulty, or demand, in learning the skill. Quantile measures are expressed as numbers followed by a “Q” (for example, 850Q) and range from emerging mathematician (below 0Q) to above 1600Q. The Quantile Framework spans the developmental continuum from the content typically taught in kindergarten to Algebra II, Geometry, Trigonometry and Pre-calculus. Quantile measures help educators and parents target instruction and monitor student growth toward learning standards and the mathematical demands of college and careers.

For more information, check out the Quantile Educator Guide or the Quantile Parent Guide.

Or, watch An Introduction to the Quantile Framework.

Lexile & Quantile Hub: Instructional and Planning Resources

Teachers employed by New Mexico District and Charter Schools have full access to the Lexile & Quantile Hub. Families and students will also find free tools on the Hub to support their learning and career aspirations. The Hub’s many resources include:

Lexile Find-A-Book, which identifies books with specific Lexile measures

The Lexile Analyzer, which provides Lexile scores for custom text

Lexile WordLists to address vocabulary gaps and prepare students for the academic words they will encounter in their learning

The Lexile Career Database and the Quantile Career Database help educators, parents and students identify the reading and mathematics ability needed for entry into a desired career

The Quantile Math Skills Database containing targeted, free resources appropriately matched to students by Quantile measure and math content

The Quantile Teacher Assistant, which helps educators locate resources that can help with instruction and identify those skills that are most relevant to the topic of daily instruction

Quantile Math@Home, which contains targeted, free resources for students and families appropriately matched to students by Quantile measure and math content

Check out the Video Library which covers topics such as:

Navigating the Lexile® & Quantile® Hub.
Quick-start tutorials for Lexile & Quantile Hub tools.
Classroom applications of Lexile® and Quantile® measures.