Important Definitions

Across New Mexico, it is critical that all students have access to High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM). With input from multiple stakeholders such as teachers, teacher leaders, administrators, curriculum specialists, New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) staff, and national experts, in 2018 the state developed this definition:

High Quality Core Instructional Materials are content-rich, fully accessible, culturally and linguistically relevant, free from bias, research-based, and aligned to New Mexico state standards. They are written with clear purpose, effective lesson structure, and pacing to provide flexibility for teachers to best support learning for all students, encouraging inquiry and curiosity. HQIM provide a variety of relevant assessments to support and guide teachers with professional tools to evaluate student comprehension of the content and provide deeper understanding of the standards. HQIM also provide support to identify the linguistic and cultural lenses that students use to make meaning in the content area.

The following are important definitions in New Mexico Administrative Code:

• “Instructional material" means school textbooks and other education media that are used as the basis for instruction, including combinations of textbooks, learning kits, supplementary material and electronic media.
• “Other classroom materials" means materials other than textbooks that are used to support direct instruction to students.
• “Core Instructional Material" means the comprehensive print or digital educational material, including basal material, which constitute the necessary instructional components of a full academic course of study in those subjects for which the department has adopted content standards and benchmarks.
• “Supplementary instructional materials" means supporting instructional material used to reinforce, enrich, or enhance instruction driven by core instructional material. Pursuant to Section 22-15-8 NMSA 1978, the department may choose not to review supplementary materials.
• “Adoption cycle" means the period during which instructional material adopted by the department shall be considered current.
• "Multiple list" means a written list of those instructional materials approved by the department.  It is the list of materials selected by a rigorous process led by New Mexico educators that is used by districts, schools, and educators to choose the highest quality materials, including core and supplementary, for their local needs.  Click here to find the Adopted Multiple List. 

Other helpful definitions:

• “Alignment" means the degree to which standards, assessments, and other important elements in an education system are complementary and work together to gauge student learning effectively.
• “Independent Review" means a formal, objective process of scoring and providing evidence and feedback by individuals with expertise and perspectives regarding the content and the use of the materials.  An independent review includes review by peers, experts and other intended users of the materials.