[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 41 (Wednesday, April 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S2949]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RAISING ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND LOWERING COLLEGE COSTS AT WEST MESA HIGH 
                        SCHOOL, ALBUQUERQUE, NM

 Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise to honor the achievements 
of the students and educators at West Mesa High School in Albuquerque, 
NM, and especially its growing Advanced Placement [AP] program.
  On Tuesday, April 1, I had the opportunity to visit West Mesa and 
speak with students and teachers participating in the school's AP 
program. Several State legislators and business leaders joined me in a 
short but invaluable group discussion and class visit.
  Perhaps most impressive was the visit to one of Mr. Tomas Fernandez' 
AP English classes, where students explained in their own words why AP 
courses are so important. In this class, the students don't ask for 
less home work or ``dumbed-down'' classes; they are demanding more 
challenging classes and higher academic expectations for all students. 
While AP classes are new to many, and set a very high standard, the 
students had found that they could succeed.
  Principal Milton Baca and a growing number of West Mesa teachers are 
responding to this demand by providing more and more challenging 
classes in the school's growing AP program. For example, West Mesa 
recently added an AP Calculus course in addition to its AP English 
course, and five teachers attended AP teacher training institutes last 
summer. More teachers are planning to attend AP training courses this 
summer so they can start an AP science course in the next school year. 
I applaud all of these efforts.
  For college-bound students, taking AP courses and passing AP exams 
can translate into valuable college credits for advanced high school 
work. For those AP students who decide not to go to college, they and 
their prospective employers can be confident that they are better 
prepared academically and will have an advantage as they compete for 
jobs and enter the work force.
  Because AP programs are so beneficial to both work- and college-bound 
students, I have been working on efforts to expand these programs, as 
part of the solution to our State's clear need for immediate, 
measurable education reform. To show the importance of strong academic 
skills to employers, I am working with several businesses in New Mexico 
to develop employment incentives for students who take and pass AP 
exams, especially in the core academic areas of English, math, and 
science. In addition, I am gratified that the State legislature 
increased funding for the AP New Mexico program to $200,000 next year, 
as I requested in testimony before the relevant committees.
  Despite this important progress, West Mesa High School and New Mexico 
have a long way to go to more fully utilize the AP program as a way to 
challenge high school students, raise academic achievement to higher 
levels, and improve our long-term economic productivity. In New Mexico, 
roughly 5,000 students took AP classes in 1996--up 22 percent from 2 
years ago--with a 20-percent increase in AP tests taken, but this is 
still below the national average. New Mexico's per-capita participation 
rate remains 20 percent lower than Arizona's and 40 percent below the 
national average.
  We are facing an uphill struggle to improve our schools and students' 
academic performance in several areas, including making better use of 
the AP program. But the strides that West Mesa High School is making 
are compelling evidence that we can make real and lasting positive 
change in our schools. I congratulate West Mesa's students and teachers 
on their accomplishments so far, wish them well on further advancement, 
and offer my assistance as they continue to improve.

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