The Annie E. Casey Foundation released its 2026 Kids Count Data Book on Monday, June 8, 2026. The Kids Count Data Book provides an annual detailed report of how children are faring in the United States on a national scale in regard to economic well-being, education, health, family and community. MORE: 2026 Kids Count Data Book According to The Kids Count Data Book, New Mexico improved in overall child well-being nationally, climbing to the 49th spot from 50th in the past three years. According to New Mexico Voices for Children, the data, which reflect conditions in 2024, suggest that many child well-being indicators continue to recover from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. New Mexico has also made strides in Economic Well-Being and Health domains. However, for the 10th consecutive year, New Mexico ranks 50th in education, according to New Mexico Kids Can, an advocacy organization for the state’s education. On Monday, KOAT spoke with New Mexico Kids Can executive director Amanda Aragon Bernabe on the state’s latest results. KOAT also reached out to the New Mexico Department of Education regarding the state’s results. A spokesperson for the department sent us a statement below. “We have to be unapologetic about saying what is true today. We’re probably the only state in the nation that has ever ranked 50th in education for a decade. So, if you think about what that means for a child— it means that when a kindergartner started school ten years ago and now, they’re in 10th grade for that entire part of their educational journey, we’ve been last,” Bernabe told KOAT.”We have to be hopeful about what can be true in the future. We can replicate the changes we’ve seen other states make. We can build on some of the progress that I think New Mexico has made, that hopefully we’ll see in a year or two years from now,” Bernabe said. “We have to stop using Covid as the excuse. Did Covid make things worse? Yes, but that was true for every state in the country. And in fact, in this year’s analytics, they have an index score. So, where is the state today versus where they were in 2019? Pre-COVID, our score on the education index, which is a score from 1 to 1000, New Mexico score is 1 out of 1000,” Bernabe told KOAT. “There are sprinkles of progress, but I think we can’t really ring the bell on that progress. We can’t claim success if we don’t start to see these rankings. Our kids are brilliant. They have untapped potential,” Bernabe expressed.New Mexico Department of Education statement“The 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book is based on data from two years ago and does not reflect New Mexico’s recent progress in education. Since then, the state has achieved its highest graduation rate in more than a decade, while reading proficiency among students in grades 3-8 has increased by 10 percentage points since 2022, rising from just over one-third of students reading at grade level to 44% in 2025. These gains include an unprecedented 13- percentage- point increase among Native American students, a 10-point increase among Hispanic students, and an 8-point increase among English learners. Kindergarten students increased by 14 percentage points, the largest gain ever for kindergarten students.These results reflect the impact of New Mexico’s strategic investments in attendance, graduation initiatives, structured literacy instruction, and universal PreK for 3-and 4-year-olds. The state’s commitment to evidence-based reading instruction and expanded learning opportunities is producing measurable improvements for students across diverse communities. The New Mexico Public Education Department remains fully focused on accelerating this momentum and ensuring classroom interventions continue driving measurable student success far beyond these lagging national reports.” — Dr. Janelle Taylor García | Manager, Communication BureauRelated: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signs nation’s first universal childcare law”I want to give the governor and the legislature credit for doing a lot of the things that have needed to be done. We have free meals for every kid in school, breakfast and lunch. We have done a lot around summer school and after school care, and now we’ve done early childhood,” Bernabe told KOAT.”Every kid is eligible for early childhood. Great. When are we going to address those middle 13 years when our kids are in school, and what are we going to do to hold people accountable to academic results?” Bernabe said. Stay updated from the latest on the KOAT app. Download here
The Annie E. Casey Foundation released its 2026 Kids Count Data Book on Monday, June 8, 2026. The Kids Count Data Book provides an annual detailed report of how children are faring in the United States on a national scale in regard to economic well-being, education, health, family and community.
MORE: 2026 Kids Count Data Book
According to The Kids Count Data Book, New Mexico improved in overall child well-being nationally, climbing to the 49th spot from 50th in the past three years. According to New Mexico Voices for Children, the data, which reflect conditions in 2024, suggest that many child well-being indicators continue to recover from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Mexico has also made strides in Economic Well-Being and Health domains. However, for the 10th consecutive year, New Mexico ranks 50th in education, according to New Mexico Kids Can, an advocacy organization for the state’s education.
On Monday, KOAT spoke with New Mexico Kids Can executive director Amanda Aragon Bernabe on the state’s latest results. KOAT also reached out to the New Mexico Department of Education regarding the state’s results. A spokesperson for the department sent us a statement below.
“We have to be unapologetic about saying what is true today. We’re probably the only state in the nation that has ever ranked 50th in education for a decade. So, if you think about what that means for a child— it means that when a kindergartner started school ten years ago and now, they’re in 10th grade for that entire part of their educational journey, we’ve been last,” Bernabe told KOAT.
“We have to be hopeful about what can be true in the future. We can replicate the changes we’ve seen other states make. We can build on some of the progress that I think New Mexico has made, that hopefully we’ll see in a year or two years from now,” Bernabe said.
“We have to stop using Covid as the excuse. Did Covid make things worse? Yes, but that was true for every state in the country. And in fact, in this year’s analytics, they have an index score. So, where is the state today versus where they were in 2019? Pre-COVID, our score on the education index, which is a score from 1 to 1000, New Mexico score is 1 out of 1000,” Bernabe told KOAT.
“There are sprinkles of progress, but I think we can’t really ring the bell on that progress. We can’t claim success if we don’t start to see these rankings. Our kids are brilliant. They have untapped potential,” Bernabe expressed.
New Mexico Department of Education statement
“The 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book is based on data from two years ago and does not reflect New Mexico’s recent progress in education. Since then, the state has achieved its highest graduation rate in more than a decade, while reading proficiency among students in grades 3-8 has increased by 10 percentage points since 2022, rising from just over one-third of students reading at grade level to 44% in 2025.
These gains include an unprecedented 13- percentage- point increase among Native American students, a 10-point increase among Hispanic students, and an 8-point increase among English learners. Kindergarten students increased by 14 percentage points, the largest gain ever for kindergarten students.
These results reflect the impact of New Mexico’s strategic investments in attendance, graduation initiatives, structured literacy instruction, and universal PreK for 3-and 4-year-olds. The state’s commitment to evidence-based reading instruction and expanded learning opportunities is producing measurable improvements for students across diverse communities.
The New Mexico Public Education Department remains fully focused on accelerating this momentum and ensuring classroom interventions continue driving measurable student success far beyond these lagging national reports.” — Dr. Janelle Taylor García | Manager, Communication Bureau
Related: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signs nation’s first universal childcare law
“I want to give the governor and the legislature credit for doing a lot of the things that have needed to be done. We have free meals for every kid in school, breakfast and lunch. We have done a lot around summer school and after school care, and now we’ve done early childhood,” Bernabe told KOAT.
“Every kid is eligible for early childhood. Great. When are we going to address those middle 13 years when our kids are in school, and what are we going to do to hold people accountable to academic results?” Bernabe said.
Stay updated from the latest on the KOAT app. Download
