new mexico military institute - response to data questions from nm watchdog

7/29/2019 New Mexico Military Institute - Response to Data Questions From NM Watchdog

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New Mexico Military Institute

(Figures supplied to NM Watchdog from Carl Hansen, director of public relations at NMMI)

High School Enrollment. Prior to General Grizzle's arrival in 2009, the mix of high school and college

student favored the college. After General Grizzle's arrival the emphasis was placed on the high school

with the intent to achieve as near a 50-50 or greater mix favoring the high school as possible. The

numbers are census numbers reported to PED only for our membership in the New Mexico Activities

Association (NMAA) and for textbook purposes.

03-04 -- 537

04-05 -- 491

05-06 -- 427

06-07 -- 381

07-08 -- 379

08-09 -- 381

09-10 -- 385

10-11 -- 440

11-12 -- 425

12-13 -- 429

13-14 -- not final/Matriculation continues

1. NMMI is a military style boarding school, a six-year learning environment comprised of a 4 year co-

educational college preparatory high school and a university parallel junior college. A hallmark of

NMMI's program is "dual enrollment;" 28% of this year's high school students are enrolled in and taking

college courses -- in the college classroom with a college instructor -- which is consistent with past years.

2. Unlike other schools, the ACT Test is a condition of graduation from the high school division. At other

schools, only those expressing a desire to go to college take the test, or the SAT. The ACT test is taken in

the cadet's junior, or 4th Class year, and can be and is taken more than once by those desiring to raise

their score to make themselves more visible to universities. Consistently, NMMI cadets' average ACT

score is above both the state and national average ACT score. This year's scores are no different. NMMI

-- 22.4 NM -- 19.9 National -- 20.9. The scores are on our web site at

http://www.nmmi.edu/ir/documents/ACTScoresfrom2003to2013.pdf

3. NMMI also employs the ACT battery of tests to assess student learning and readiness for college;

specifically, the Tests are EXPLORE at the 9th grade (6th Class), PLAN at the 10th grade (5th Class), and


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ACT at the 11th Grade (5th Class). The cadet scores are individual performance indicators protected by

FERPA, and we do not publish them. Why do we use EXPLORE and PLAN: on the student side the test

shows students strengths and weaknesses in English, math, reading and science; helps students search

for careers and learn which ones might be right for them; and helps students choose high school courses

that will prepare them for college work. On the instructor side the tests are valuable advising tools that

provide focus for more effective parental involvement when reviewing students' academic progress and

college options, and helps identify gaps in the curriculum and the designing of more rigorous courses.

4. NMMI does not maintain a "graduation" rate nor a "dropout" rate, common to public high schools.

NMMI is a military institute, not a public school, and academics, deportment, and individual

cadet/parent actions affect its cadet body. Each semester, NMMI suspends cadets who do not perform

academically across the curriculum. NMMI also suspends or dismisses at any time of the school year,

and at the end of a semester, cadets who fail in deportment -- either their overall deportment or specific

serious incidents that affect their continuing status as a cadet. Further, NMMI suspends or dismisses

those cadets who violate the Cadet Honor Code -- "A cadet will not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those

who do." And, parents, for whatever reason, may choose to remove their cadet from the school at anytime.

A cadet must be "in good standing" for anything good to happen to him or her, including promotions,

furloughs, passes. In good standing means a "C" or better GPA and a "C" in deportment.

5. The high school also is a Junior ROTC program; all high school cadets are members. The JROTC

Program provides a quality citizenship, character, and leadership development program, consistent with

the values of NMMI. Each year, cadet performance is tested in the Annual General Inspection by

inspectors of the US Army Cadet Command. Since the inception of JROTC in 1916 at NMMI, the NMMI

high school cadet battalion has been designated an Honor Unit With Distinction, the highest possible

rating, continuously -- 97 years. This year the cadets scored 585 out of 600 possible points.

6. The high school division just completed its accreditation by AdvancED, the largest high school

accrediting body in the nation, and was awarded the maximum 5-year accreditation. Two, of the many,

comments on the high school's performance bear mentioning:

"There is a strong culture among staff with is consistent with the system's purpose and direction. As a

result of this shared vision, system personnel have created a strong curriculum which outlines

challenging learning experiences and significant opportunities to develop learning, thinking and life skills

that lead to success at the next level. This rigorous curriculum encompasses the academic, leadership,

and physical areas."

"The seamless integration of curriculum from the 9th grade through junior college is commendable and

is a testament to the system leadership's vision to raise the educational standards, not only in New

Mexico, but throughout the nation."

Additionally, the AdvancED evaluators singled out the high school with 11 Powerful Practices --

according to AdvancED Powerful Practices highlight actions not typically observed or expected in an


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institution given its specific context. Powerful Practices should reflect noteworthy observations and

actions that have yielded clear results in student achievement or organizational effectiveness. 11

practices was more than the evaluators had ever noted in an evaluation and said that they could have

singled out many others.

Here are our enrollment/retention numbers for the past few years. Source is the Registrar.

Year Start Fall End Fall Retention Start Spring End Spring

Retention

2000-2001 995 948 95.28% 854 794

92.97%

2001-2002 991 894 90.21% 879 819

93.17%

2002-2003 986 920 93.31% 852 794

93.19%

2003-2004 975 875 89.74% 828 773

93.36%

2004-2005 964 868 90.04% 850 814

95.76%

2005-2006 910 825 90.66% 767 714

93.09%

2006-2007 894 789 88.26% 736 666

90.49%

2007-2008 886 758 85.55% 722 658

91.14%


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2008-2009 874 783 89.59% 713 640

89.76%

2009-2010 833 746 89.56% 710 648

91.27%

2010-2011 960 845 88.02% 795 730

91.82%

2011-2012 924 853 92.32% 793 74894.33%

2012-2013 951 868 91.27% 799 755

94.49%

2013-2014 946*

* Current but not official

As a boarding school, NMMI enrolls new and current students each semester. Retention is a function of

the start and end for each semester as the cadet population is affected by such things as graduation (we

graduate in December and in May), athletes transfer to Division 1 or 2 schools during the first semester,

cadets are suspended or dismissed from NMMI for academics and deportment at any time during a

semester and at the end of each semester, cadets withdraw or their parents withdraw them for any

number of reasons (financial, parental, family issues, medical, etc.).

Armchair critics say that we should just divide the year end number by the year start number and that's

retention. To define retention in that misguided, sophomoric fashion denies the positives that affect

our cadets and the school. Some of those critics say that's how a university, for example TCU, does it.

Fine for other schools, colleges and universities; NMMI is not TCU or any other university. In fact, there

is no comparison as NMMI is a military institute composed of a junior college and a college preparatory

high school. Thus, NMMI is not an "end-producer;" NMMI prepares young men and women for the


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next level in their education, wherever and whenever that occurs. The characteristic that best defines

NMMI is that we are a 6-year learning environment.

Regarding critic's comments about enrollment before and after General Grizzle's arrival, the following

shows that NMMI, a boarding school, has a finite number of "beds" for our enrolling student population.

The percentage of capacity from 2009-2010 to the present speaks to any criticism of enrollment duringGeneral Grizzle's tenure.

Year Start Fall Bed Capacity Percent of Capacity

2003-2004 975 965 101.03%

2004-2005 964 965 99.89%

2005-2006 910 965 94.30%

2006-2007 894 965 92.64%

2007-2008 886 965 91.81%

2008-2009 874 965 90.57%

2009-2010 833 965 86.32%

2010-2011 960 965 99.48%*

2011-2012 924 965 95.75%

2012-2013 951 965 98.55%


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2013-2014 946* 965 98.24%

* First year of Grizzle's enrollment activities

** Current but not official

General Grizzle started his tenure as Superintendent in July 2009-2010 school year; enrollment was

already established for that year from the last year of the Ellison tenure. The first year General Grizzle's

policies and actions to raise enrollment standards began to affect enrollment was the 2010-2011 school

year. Admiral David Ellison was the Superintendent beginning July 2004-2005 school year and ending in

June 2008-2009. General Grizzle and the Regents determined to focus enrollment activities at the high

school to improve opportunities for more students to gain an NMMI education, affect the balance of

high school and college cadets, which had been weighted to the college in the Ellison years, and ensure

greater high school graduate participation at the junior college level.

As you can see, prior to Grizzle's arrival Institute enrollment had been on a steady decline for a decade;

however, no one took notice at any level, particularly at the Superintendent's level, and nothing was

done to try to change the trend.

new mexico military institute - response to data questions from nm watchdog

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