By Sean Whaley, Nevada News Bureau: A study showing how well Nevada’s students perform on achievement tests, released today by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, concludes they fare no better than mid-range, and often well below, students in other states.
The report consolidates the results of several K-12 achievement tests and compares the target and actual percentages of standards as measured by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
In addition, the report shows how Nevada students rank nationally in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which measures 4th and 8th grade math and reading scores, as well as state-by-state comparisons of SAT and ACT scores taken by students planning to attend college.
Some of the findings include:
– Nevada’s 4th and 8th graders placed no higher than 43rd in math or reading on any of the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exams.
– Only 26 percent of high school seniors and 11 percent of high school juniors took the SAT. Of that group, Nevada placed 35th nationally in critical reading, 39th in math and 40th in writing.
– Of the Nevada students who took the ACT, they ranked 28th nationally in composite score, 27th in English, 28th in math, 28th in reading and 31st in science.
“Nevada continues to rank well below national averages on standardized student proficiency exams administered to elementary school, middle school, and college-bound high-school students,” the report says.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Ray Bacon, executive director of the Nevada Manufacturers Association and a member of Governor Gibbons’ new education task force. The NEAP scores in particular show how Nevada students perform compared to students in other states, and the news isn’t good, he said.
“It’s pretty ugly,” Bacon said.
As for how to improve student achievement, Nevada ought to look to Florida, where several reforms have been made that are helping improve performance, he said. The Nevada Policy Research Institute recently issued a report on Florida’s reforms, Bacon said.
Florida has stopped the so-called “social promotion” of students beyond the third grade, meaning they can’t move on to a higher grade if they have not learned to read, and the state also now rates schools using an “A” to “F” grade so parents can get easily accessible performance information, Bacon said. Florida also created a virtual school where students can take courses online.
“None of the changes do much in the short term,” he said. “But we’re so far in the ditch, there is nothing we can do short term that will make any difference.”
The Las Vegas chamber report contained some good news, however.
The report found there was “meaningful improvement” by Clark County students in meeting or exceeding standards. “…while the (Clark County School District) did not make AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) in 2009, elementary school students meeting or exceeding standards have increased from 45.5 percent to 57.2 percent in English/language arts and 49.5 percent to 63.0 percent in math between 2003 and 2009.”
If one of the 37 possible subgroups (including certain minority groups, English language learners, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities) fails to make progress under the guidelines, then the entire school is designated as failing. The No Child Left Behind Act requires 100 percent student proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year.
The report also notes that often cited national tests are given to only a select number of students in each state and in fact “no comprehensive, national comparison of the proficiency of all students has ever been undertaken, let alone published.”
The report was done by the Las Vegas firm Applied Analysis, and is the first in a series of reports focusing on Nevada’s quality of education, education fiscal policy, and factors impacting educational attainment. The reports are designed to assess the current state of education and to lay a foundation from which the chamber and other interested parties can assess public policy issues regarding K-12 education.
“While we are encouraged by the improved performance of Nevada’s students in some areas in recent years, our education achievement needs to be significantly better,” said Hugh Anderson, chairman of the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee. “We look forward to working with elected officials, educators, and the community to improve our education results.”
