LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Four years ago, 120 schools in Nevada received a five-star rating for performance, the highest that could be given. Last school year, that number dropped to 85 schools, but more than half of the schools that had the lowest rating, one star, improved, according to the Nevada Report Card from the Nevada Department of Education.
The Nevada School Performance Framework (NSPF) Star Ratings were released Friday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The state received a waiver for the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school years due to the disruption caused by the pandemic.
“Our focus, across the state will be on advancing academic recovery to put our students on a path to excellence,” said Jhone Ebert, superintendent of public instruction.
Although there was a drop in the five-star schools, Ebert said some schools made huge strides and received a two-star increase. Mike O’Callaghan i3 Learn Academy Middle School, Thurman White Academy of the Performing Arts Middle School, Explore Knowledge Academy Middle School (a district-sponsored charter school), and Nevada Connections Academy (an online charter school) were among those that improved in performance.
The report acknowledges Nevada’s students are still recovering from interrupted learning due to the pandemic but adds the 2023 Nevada Legislature passed the largest education budget in history — nearly $12 billion for education spending.
“The Governor and Legislature have set the districts and charter schools up for success. Now is the time to seize the opportunities to ensure our learners thrive,” Ebert said.
The Nevada Report Card showed all levels of students had a proficiency decrease in math and English language arts in the past four years.
| MATHEMATICS PROFICIENCY | 2022-2023 | 2018-2019 |
| ELEMENTARY | 33.6% | 41.9% |
| MIDDLE | 23.8% | 30.6% |
| HIGH | 19.4% | 24.8% |
Fifth graders had the highest level of ELA proficiency at 43.7 percent and third graders had the highest level of math proficiency at 41.4 percent.
| ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS PROFICIENCY | 2022-2023 | 2018-2019 |
| ELEMENTARY | 40.6% | 49.1% |
| MIDDLE | 38.3% | 46.5% |
| HIGH | 46% | 46.5% |
The data showed all Nevada high schools had a small boost — less than .04 percent — in their graduation rate.
The majority of students in the state, nearly 63 percent, attend school in Clark County. The total enrollment dropped around 20,000 students from the previous report in 2018-2019. Clark County also experienced a drop in its graduation rates and a spike in its chronic absenteeism rate.
| CLARK COUNTY | 2022-2023 | CLARK COUNTY | 2018-2019 |
| ENROLLMENT | 304,276 | ENROLLMENT | 325,081 |
| SCHOOLS | 383 | SCHOOLS | 384 |
| TEACHERS | 17,443 | TEACHERS | 17,689 |
| GRADUATION RATE | 81.31% | GRADUATION RATE | 85.22% |
| CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM RATE | 38.3% | CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM RATE | 21.9% |
| SUSPENSIONS FOR BULLYING/CYBERBULLYING | 3,384 | SUSPENSIONS FOR BULLYING/CYBERBULLYING | 9,206 |
| EXPULSIONS FOR BULLYING/CYBERBULLYING | 492 | EXPULSIONS FOR BULLYING/CYBERBULLYING | 737 |
The report also stated that bills were passed during the legislative session to put accountability measures into place such as requiring an analysis of the return on the historic budget investment into Nevada’s educational system, emphasizing the critical need for proficient literacy skills by third-grade, a new requirement that all students are on track for college and career readiness diplomas, and data requirements that seek to connect school staffing levels with student behavior.
