Frequently asked questions

New Mexico teachers, administrators, stakeholders and national experts created this definition of HQIM. “High Quality Instructional Materials are content-rich, fully accessible, culturally and linguistically relevant, free from bias, research-based, aligned to New Mexico content standards, and a comprehensive full course of study. 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, complex problem solving, 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 represent a variety of cultural and linguistic perspectives and highlight diversity in culture and language through multiple perspectives to support students in making meaning of each content area.”

Annually, the PED Instructional Material Bureau facilitates a rigorous review of comprehensive, full course of study instructional materials being considered for adoption. These instructional materials being considered for adoption must first meet the research-based effectiveness requirements. If they meet the research-based effectiveness requirements, they are then reviewed at the Summer Review Institute by teams of New Mexico teachers using extensive scoring rubrics. These rubrics include determining if the instructional materials align with the state academic content standards, cultural and linguistic relevance, and many criteria for determining quality. Instructional materials that score at the highest level meet the HQIM designation as core instructional materials (CIM) on the PED adopted multiple list. Instructional materials that do not meet the requirements at the highest level are not recommended and not adopted by PED. Please visit the HQIM Reviews website.

When you select your district you will be able to view the instructional materials purchased and if they are rated as HQIM (HQ), Not Recommended (NR) or Not Reviewed (NA). Instructional materials identified as HQIM were reviewed as part of the review process detailed in #2 above and meet the requirements at the highest level. Instructional materials listed as Not Recommended (NR) means the instructional materials went through the review process in #2 above; however, after having been reviewed by NM teachers, they did not meet the requirements and are not recommended. Instructional materials listed as Not Reviewed (NA) have not been reviewed as part of the PED review process and are not rated at this time.

Districts will have an opportunity to verify and correct their data in the dashboard each year as part of their instructional material annual report.

You may want to inquire with your students’ teachers, your school principal, or your district administration. Decisions about which instructional materials to purchase are made at the district level. Local school boards are statutorily required to give written notice to parents and other community members and invite parental involvement in the adoption process at the district level.

Implementation and use of those instructional materials is the responsibility of the district, school, and teacher. PED provides guidance in the HQIM Implementation Hub, including Implementation Tools for Math, Science, and all other subjects.